There are plenty of reasons for Bay Staters to be happy. Massachusetts’ higher-ed institutions are first-rate, the technology and innovation scenes are unmatched, the weather is sometimes beautiful and the history runs deeper than most other states. There are plenty of reasons for residents to experience elation and it’s evident in Gallup’s annual ranking of states with the highest well-being.
While yes, Massachusetts may have dropped three spots from tenth in terms of well-being in 2012 to 13th in 2013, it shows the spreading of wealth, health and happiness to northern and midwestern states. North Dakota, South Dakoka, Nebraska, Minnesota and Montana round out the top five while Vermont (6), New Hampshire (11), Massachusetts (13) and Maine (15) represent New England in the top 20.
Both Vermont and Maine are also two of the states with the most improvement, jumping up in standing by 2- and 1.3-points, respectively.
Gallup’s poll consolidated data from six categories: life evaluation, emotional health, work environment, physical health, healthy behaviors and basic access. Our fare commonwealth scored the highest when it came to basic access, which Gallup notes “is partially a result of having the highest percentage of residents with health insurance in the nation, but unfortunately for West Virginia, it scored the lowest in every single category except work environment – that dishonor goes to Mississippi.
That data is then compiled into an overall well-being index on a scale of one to 100. On a national scale, the U.S. has a well-being of 66.2 or the equivalent of the state of Florida.
Business Insider credits the fact that North Dakota is sitting pretty at numer one overall (scoring first in both work environment and physical health) to its burgeoning job industry, noting that “for the fifth year in a row, that state topped all other states in employee perceptions of job creation at their workplaces in 2013… North Dakota has also benefitted from a surge in its oil industry and topped a recent list of payroll-to-population state rankings.”
It’s interesting to note, as well, that 2012 toppers Hawaii and Colorado both dropped, the former to eighth and the latter to seventh.
For more in-depth information on Gallup’s data, check out their findings here. In the meantime, let’s hear your reactions. Does Massachusetts deserve a better ranking? Or is it a snow-laden tundra that’s only habitable during a handful of months out of the year? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
[Image via Business Insider]
