The Happiest States in the US: 2022 Report

We kept our analysis simple to determine the most accurate answer to our question, Which is the happiest state in the nation?

The Happiest State in the US

Method of calculation: We’d like to think we performed a unique and highly complex mathematical matrix to arrive at a definitive answer. However, in reality, we added the seven rankings for each state and then divided them by 10. This yielded a new set of rankings to a single decimal point. We then ordered these results (with the lowest score taking first place) to determine which US state to crown as “Happiest State in the US.” Here are the final rankings:

Introducing the happiest state in the US . . .

Massachusetts: The Happiest State in the US

It seems fitting that our anaylsis to determine the happiest US state led us back to the origins of our nation—back to the land where our Pilgrim fathers who came to North America across the vast Atlantic Ocean on the Mayflower chose to settle over 400 hundred years ago.

Our research reveals that the state of Massachusetts ranked first in three of our categories—well-being, mental health, and family—and featured among the top 11 for three more—health care, financial security, and work.

However, happiness is a complex and elusive concept. How do you define being happy? Can happiness be reliably measured?

What is happiness?

Abraham Lincoln famously said, “Folks are usually about as happy as they make their minds up to be.”

But is this true? Can one simply decide to be happy? Probably not, as we’d all be happy if it were a mere choice. In fact, the vast majority of mental health clinicians and other medical experts would certainly disagree with Abe.

So the question remains: What is happiness? And if we can measure real happiness, can we calculate which state in the US is the happiest?

Charles M. Schulz, the creator of the Peanuts comic strip, shares an opinion on the subject: “Happiness is a warm puppy.” While he certainly has a point, there’s a little bit more to happiness. So, let’s attempt to find a fuller definition of happiness:

According to The Greater Good Science Center at the University of California at Berkeley, most of us probably don’t care about the definition of happiness. We just know it when we feel it, and we all want to be happy. We use the word “happy” to describe many positive emotions, including contentment, pride, joy, and gratitude. Most dictionaries simply define it as “the state of being happy.”

Sonja Lyubomirsky, a positive psychology researcher and author, defined happiness more thoroughly in her 2007 book The How of Happiness as “the experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being, combined with a sense that one’s life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile.”

Many researchers use the word “happiness” interchangeably with the term “subjective well-being,” which can be measured according to social and psychology experts. Measuring it involves asking people to report how satisfied and content they feel with their own lives and how many positive and negative emotions they’re experiencing.

What is subjective well-being?

Subjective well-being (SWB, also known as self-reported well-being) refers to how people experience and evaluate various aspects of their lives. It is often used to measure a person’s mental health and level of happiness, and it is an important predictor of individual health, wellness, and longevity.

As US corporations, politicians, and charitable foundations become more data driven, SWB has also become a useful measure of societal health and a source of information to guide policymaking in areas such as public health, economics, and education.

Subjective well-being is influenced by various factors, including internal factors like personality and external factors like culture and local environment.

SWB researchers have identified several key categories that play an important role in well-being:

• Basic resources: Having basic needs (e.g., food, housing, and healthcare) met.
• Personality and temperament: Inborn temperament and personality affect overall happiness throughout life.
• Mindset and resilience: Those with a positive mindset and robust resilience are more optimistic and tend to be happier, even when facing difficult life events.
• Social support: Having a network of family and friends that one can turn to in times of need enhances both physical and mental well-being.
• Society: The characteristics of the society in which one lives—such as rates of crime, war, poverty, and conflict—influence how one feels about their life.

The real benefits of being happy

Unsurprisingly, being happy is a good thing. It brings real benefits. Here are the clearest benefits that happiness brings:

Here at Modern Recovery Services, we researched what we consider to be the seven most critical “happiness indicators” to determine which state is the nation’s happiest.

These factors are

Happiness indicator #1: Well-being

As discussed above, subjective wellbeing is a quality that can be measured and then indexed. One of the most respected indices—theSharecare Community Well-Being Index—is conducted by Sharecare, a leading US digital health company, in partnership with Boston University’s School of Public Health.

Results from the latest version of the index, which were released in July 2022, are shown below.

In 2021, nearly 500,000 US residents were asked questions based on Sharecare’s criteria:

Here are the results:

Massachusetts sits happily in the #1 spot for the second year, while Mississippi ranks at the bottom for the third year running.

Source: Sharecare Community Well-Being Index, 2021: State Rankings Report

Happiness indicator #2: Mental health

As you might imagine, your mental health plays an exceptionally important role in determining your level of happiness. But did you know that striving to be happy can damage your mental health? According to several studies, excessively valuing happiness can cause a person to feel less happy. It can even be associated with symptoms of depression, one of the most common mental health issues in the US today.

Those who do not strive for happiness and instead are more accepting of their circumstances tend to be happier. Such resultant feelings of contentedness have been shown to act as a protective barrier against depressing situations or events that might otherwise prompt symptoms of depression.

One of the most respected surveys of mental health in the US is conducted by Mental Health America (MHA), one of the nation’s leading community-based nonprofits dedicated to addressing the needs of those with mental illness.

Using a range of criteria, including the prevalence of mental illness, substance use, and suicidal thoughts; the number of people with healthcare insurance; the number of people seeking treatment; and the presence of mental health treatment facilities in each state, the report provides a relatively accurate current picture of mental health in the US.

Source: 2022 The State of Mental Health in America Report

Happiness indicator #3: Healthcare

The well-being and potential happiness of every American depend heavily on their level of healthcare. No one suffering chronic pain or managing a debilitating medical condition has a realistic chance of finding true happiness without treatment.

In the US, US News & World Report is among the most respected sources of national surveys. This multifaceted digital media company assists Americans with important life decisions. To find the states with the best healthcare (one of our happiness criteria), we considered its official health care rankings for all states. When ranking, US News examines data on healthcare access, healthcare quality, and the state of public health.

Here’s what they found:

Source: US News & World Report Health Care Rankings

Happiness indicator #4: Family

George Burns, one of America’s greatest 20th-century comedians who brought happiness to millions for 70 years, once said of family, “Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family … in another city.”

Chuckles aside, why is a “loving, caring, close-knit” family important for happiness?

Scientific studies say this: Family (usually) provides financial stability in our early years, meeting our basic needs and so allowing us to grow—physically, mentally, and emotionally. Year after year, studies have found family bonds matter more to people than income.

A  primary reason family is important is support, and it’s not just a one-way street. One study found that nearly 70% of parents depend on their children for emotional support, which is known to counter stress, depressive symptoms, and low self-esteem. Another survey found that more than 60% of participants said their sibling was their best friend.

For our calculations in determining the happiest state, we considered states in which high percentages of the population lived within a family environment.

Source: US Census Bureau

Happiness indicator #5: Financial security

The opposite of financial security in today’s consumer-driven world is poverty. Most people would describe poverty as lacking the money to pay for the essentials others take for granted, such as food, clothing, and shelter.

However, poverty is much more than that. Poverty has costs that extend beyond the financial.

The World Bank Organization describes poverty like this: “Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick, and not being able to see a doctor. Poverty is not having access to school, and not knowing how to read. Poverty is not having a job, [it] is fear for the future, living one day at a time.”

Poverty also means:

• Being unable to participate in recreational activities
• Being unable to send children on a day trip with schoolmates or to a birthday party
• Being unable to pay for essential medications

For these reasons, we included financial security as an important element of achieving happiness.

Source: US Census Bureau

Happiness indicator #6: Home

Shelter is a basic need. It ensures that one always has a place to go—their home—if circumstances worsen, which is a vital comfort in troubled times.

According to Census Bureau data from the first quarter of 2022, the average homeownership rate in the US is 65.4%. However, homeownership declined in 90% of states between 2005 and 2020.

In many states, homeownership rates are low because renting is extremely popular. However, some states with low homeownership rates also have a high rental vacancies, which may indicate gradual depopulation as more people “up sticks” and move out of state for work or other reasons.

West Virginia has the highest homeownership rate (79.6%) in the nation, while California has the lowest (54.2%).

Source: US Census Bureau

Note: Delaware, Iowa, Maine, and New Hampshire currently have identical homeownership rates.

Happiness indicator #7: Work

As the old saying goes, “The devil makes work for idle hands.” Far better to occupy oneself in productive work to earn enough money to live happily.

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest employment data, there are around 157 million Americans in the nation’s labor force. Most (107.8 million or around 71%) are employed in the service sector.

The largest areas of the service sector are trade, transportation, and utilities, followed by education and health services, profession and business services, and leisure and hospitality. Around 22.5 million Americans work in government and 12.9 million in manufacturing, while around 16 million are self-employed.

The job market and its work opportunities vary wildly from state to state, as each state has a unique economy and set of industries.

South Carolina enjoys the highest employment rate in the nation, with only 2.3% of residents unemployed. Interestingly, South Carolina also has one of the lowest labor participation rates in the country—just 58%.

At the other end of the spectrum sits Alaska, which suffers an ongoing statewide recession and has seen the fastest job loss rate since 2015.

Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics

Note: Employment rates are rounded to one-hundredth of a percentage point.

Modern Recovery Services: Mental health treatment

Psychology researcher and author Sonja Lyubomirsky’s definition of “happiness” says it best: “The experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being, combined with a sense that one’s life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile.”

Modern Recovery Services, located in Tempe, Arizona, is a behavioral health accountability and support program that offers technology-driven results to our clients, their families, and treatment professionals.

We offer online intensive outpatient program (IOP) options for mental health treatment, recovery coaching, adolescent therapies and programs, and other mental health services.

Contact us today to learn about the many depression treatment options we can offer you.