This
Is the Unhappiest State in America
December 10, 2021 8:30 am
https://247wallst.com/healthcare-economy/2021/12/10/mississippi-is-the-unhappiest-state-in-america/
How do you measure happiness? According to
one adage, money cannot buy it. Perhaps it is tied to health or a good family
life. A good job should be mixed in. So should the environment where people
live.
NiceRx
tried to measure the happiest and unhappiest states with
its own methodology. Its metrics included poverty, mental illness, life
expectancy, median household income, a safety score and homicide levels. Data
on life expectancy and homicide rate in each state came from the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention. Data on the mean household income and safety
rating for each state were from World Population Review, and data on each
state’s rates of mental illness and poverty came from Data USA. According to
NiceRx, “These factors cover a range of different topics, from health and social
affairs to economic matters. This provided us with a good overview of the
different stresses and strains that people living in these states might
experience.”
What
did the research leave out? Certainly environmental factors like air and water
pollution. Another measure left out was good schools and colleges. Yet another
is the presence of parks and retail amenities. However, its yardsticks are as
good as most others.
Once
all factors were taken into account, each state was given a composite happiness
score. The rating ran from 10 to zero, with the best state for happiness
receiving the highest score.
At the top of
the list was Hawaii, which had a score of 9.02. Its mean household income was
high at $103,780, and the poverty rate was low at 9.44%. Connecticut ranked
second with a score of 8.82. A number of the top states were in the northeast.
The
lowest rated state was Mississippi at 2.06. It was followed by Louisiana,
Arkansas and Alabama, as southern states dominated the bottom of the list.
These
are the 10 unhappiest states in America:
·
Mississippi (2.06)
·
Louisiana (2.38)
·
Arkansas (2.61)
·
Alabama (3.17)
·
West Virginia (3.19)
·
Oklahoma (3.65)
·
Tennessee (3.66)
·
Kentucky (3.77)
·
New Mexico (3.86)
·
South Carolina (4.35)
Posted by Gary Wedgewood
No surprises there. Not a top-ten list to envy.
ReplyDeleteWell that's very sad...but not surprising.
ReplyDelete