Hawaii Is The Happiest State in America
03/08/2011
Flickr: Keo 101
It looks like the old mantra, "Lucky We Live Hawaii," rings true in at least one official context.
Hawaii is the happiest state in the nation, scoring well in a new national well-being and happiness survey by Gallup. And the happiest person in America? None other than Honolulu's own Alvin Wong, according to the New York Times, which asked Gallup for a composite of the happiest person.
As it turns out, Gallup sent the newspaper after a tall, Asian-American, observant Jew who is at least 65 and married, has children, lives in Hawaii, runs his own business and has a household income of more than $120,000 a year.
Indeed, Wong fits all the categories: he's a 5-foot-10, 69-year-old, Chinese-American, Kosher-observing Jew, who’s married with children and lives in Honolulu. He runs his own health care management business and earns more than $120,000 a year.
Gallup's 2010 telephone survey polled a random sample of 352,840 adults ages 18 and older living in the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Hawaii scored particularly well on these three well-being categories: life evaluation, emotional health and physical health.
The top 10 states and their average well-being scores (out of a possible 100 points):
- Hawaii: 71.0
- Wyoming: 69.2
- North Dakota: 68.4
- Alaska: 68.3
- Colorado: 68.0
- Minnesota: 68.0
- South Dakota: 68.0
- Utah: 67.9
- Connecticut: 67.9
- Nebraska: 67.8
Read it at LiveScience.
