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Top 10 Happiest U.S. States

Try to name the happiest states in the United States of America, based on how people answered the question "How happy do you feel on a scale from 1 to 4?".
Data from 1.3 million Americans from 2005–2008. Source.
Quiz by skukka
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Last updated: October 16, 2020
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First submittedJanuary 25, 2017
Times taken16,909
Average score70.0%
Rating4.38
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#
Happy State
1
Louisiana
2
Hawaii
3
Florida
4
Tennessee
5
Arizona
#
Happy State
6
Mississippi
7
Montana
8
South Carolina
9
Alabama
10
Maine
+30
Level ∞
Oct 16, 2020
This data is fairly old, but it's very good compared to other data. It's an absolutely massive survey. The one weird thing is that the data for Louisiana might be affected by Hurricane Katrina. Many people, having overcome trauma, feel a sense of relief and happiness.
+27
Level 85
Oct 16, 2020
1.3 Americans doesn't sound so massive. ;-)
+19
Level ∞
Oct 16, 2020
1.3 million. Fixed!
+12
Level 66
Nov 9, 2020
I am pissed that no one asked me.
+21
Level 58
Nov 9, 2020
How happy are you on a scale of 1-4, mightythor?
+12
Level 75
Nov 9, 2020
he just told you, pissed.
+2
Level 78
Sep 15, 2023
As much as I don't doubt that they are still pissed, how are you feeling with 3 years to reflect mightythor?
+1
Level 73
Sep 28, 2021
But pissed as in angry or smashed, eh?
+6
Level 54
Oct 17, 2020
I'm most surprised by Montana and Maine. You'd think the winters would be too harsh for a lot of happiness.
+13
Level 76
Oct 19, 2020
Winters are great. Especially the more snowy and dry ones. Pitch black moist fall however...
+15
Level 70
Nov 9, 2020
Very homogeneous, very rural, was expecting more of those to be represented. Very surprised Utah didn't make it.
+6
Level 69
Nov 9, 2020
Probably because mormonism is a religion that intentionally makes their members feel inadequate
+1
Level 93
Sep 15, 2023
You mean people aren't filled with joy following "Rules: The Religion"?
+4
Level 79
Nov 9, 2020
I'm more surprised by Alabama and Mississippi.
+3
Level 51
Oct 17, 2020
Mississippi?
+14
Level 73
Nov 9, 2020
Since it tends to rank among the least educated states, maybe they don't know better. :)
+15
Level 55
Nov 10, 2020
Mississippi is a bit backwards, but this just goes to show that people in these states lead simple lives, with less govt intervention and hooplah. They like it that way. Happiness is a journey, not a destination. I think most people think that they will be happy when they get what they want, or acquire all the stuff they think they are entitled to, and many think govt or others are there to provide them with everything from cradle to grave. Make your own life, and your own happiness.
+7
Level 61
Nov 11, 2020
Ignorance is bliss, after all
+2
Level 50
Dec 6, 2020
ignorance is strength*

Remember, big brother is watching

+6
Level 82
Oct 17, 2020
Aside from Maine and Montana... I was operating on the guess that the saddest states are suffering from seasonal affective disorder and that served me pretty well.
+4
Level 85
Oct 17, 2020
aka the delusional states (except for hawaii)
+15
Level 82
Oct 17, 2020
Because life is pointless suffering?
+48
Level 76
Oct 18, 2020
Yeah because there's NO way people in those states could be happy, right? Get over yourself
+33
Level 84
Oct 19, 2020
Happiness is far more about state of mind than it is about circumstances. Try it, you might like it.
+4
Level 74
Oct 30, 2020
Agreed ☭
+1
Level 71
Nov 9, 2020
I'll admit I thought it was odd that some of the poorest states are among the happiest, but weather-wise it makes a lot of sense. There are probably some other factors I'm missing too.
+11
Level 75
Nov 9, 2020
If you use money as your only gauge of happiness you'll never have enough. Another one of my dad's sayings was, "Too many people in pursuit of their salt forget about their sugar."
+3
Level 71
Nov 10, 2020
No yeah, I definitely agree that money doesn't bring happiness, it's just that lower income tends to correlate with things like poorer health (due to decreased access to healthcare), more stress coming from strain on financial resources, etc., which I would expect to make people less happy. That being said, I acknowledge things like weather, cultures, etc. also contribute to happiness a lot.
+5
Level 55
Nov 10, 2020
How are they delusional? Many people are happy because they have morals and a work ethic, and they love their simple lives and their families and community just fine. Maybe people like you can't find meaning in life and don't know how to be happy.
+6
Level 65
Oct 22, 2020
It seems that the 10 happiest states are the states that have the fewest number of migrants from the 10 unhappiest states list. New Yorkers, Ohio'ans, Marylanders, and Californians don't move to Louisiana, Montana, Tennessee, or Alabama.
+2
Level 67
Oct 28, 2022
But Florida, South Carolina, and Arizona are on the list. Nashville, Tennessee is actually pulling a lot of Californians lately.
+3
Level 43
Nov 9, 2020
Colorado legalizes weed and they can't crack the top ten?
+1
Level 58
Nov 9, 2020
First one I tried, I guess with the addition of nearly half the other states it doesn't make it too special anymore.
+2
Level 50
Nov 9, 2020
Strange that Louisiana is simultaneously the happiest state and statistically has the worst quality of life
+12
Level 74
Nov 9, 2020
I think that says much more about people in unhappy/wealthy states than about Louisiana etc. Maybe the others should learn to appreciate what they have.
+1
Level 55
Nov 9, 2020
Exactly, my initial strategy was to try the richest states (mostly the Northeast), and I only started trying the south once I had gone through most of the other ones.
+2
Level 59
Nov 9, 2020
It's SELF reported happiness from 15 YEARS ago so there probably is some bad data here
+8
Level 77
Nov 9, 2020
How else would you determine someone's happiness besides them self-reporting it?
+4
Level 52
Jan 19, 2021
Steal their valuables and determine how happy they would be
+1
Level 75
May 24, 2023
Disagree, Mississippi is the state with the worst quality of life and people meme about it ranking 50th a lot
+1
Level 46
Nov 9, 2020
I really think getting the right number of n's and s's in states like Massachusets and Louisiana shouldn't be a prerequisite for these quizzes, especially when there's a time constraint.
+1
Level 46
Apr 28, 2021
so you think louisiaa should be accepted?
+1
Level 57
Nov 9, 2020
I am personally surprised by some states that made it. Though I have only lived in Florida, I have spent lots of time in Tennessee and had a really unhappy and unpleasant time. I guess most people surveyed are not from the Gatlinburg area.
+1
Level 41
Nov 9, 2020
As a Floridian, I am surprised that Florida is #3. I'm not happy with the weather, nor the people in Florida.
+4
Level 75
Nov 9, 2020
I've never been, but I imagine that if you live in Hawaii and you're not happy, you're not living in Hawaii correctly.
+2
Level 75
Nov 10, 2020
ah, another quiz that I am able to ace purely by virtue of being able to type every state very quickly. Coulda done it just as easily without knowing what the prompt was.
+1
Level 23
Nov 11, 2020
this source is from 2005 i was born in 2005
+1
Level 84
Aug 15, 2023
Congratulations?
+2
Level 43
Dec 6, 2020
Ignorance is bliss. That explains Alabama and Mississippi.
+9
Level 92
Dec 6, 2020
It may be that happiness is directly related to being able to live far away from snide arrogant folks like you who apparently are unable to grasp what makes other folks truly happy. I happen to live in one of the 10 happiest states after living in 5 of the unhappiest. I am glad to do so - please don't move here and ruin it for everyone else. Thank you.
+1
Level 63
Dec 22, 2020
Well said, French2010!
+1
Level 79
Feb 5, 2024
I mean you SOUND truly happy and unbothered in this comment lol.

Nah, Bdubz is right. I live in one of these states. And yep, the most ignorant and uneducated are usually happier because they don't care about anything going on outside of their myopic lives. Sorry that offends folks like you, but it's an honest observation for a lot of people.

The right-wing people around me don't do "annoying things" like take the time to recycle or bother to even throw their trash in a can half the time because, and this is a direct quote from a neighbor, "What the hell do YOU care if the planet goes to hell when you're dead? har har har". They don't think too much.

And let's think about the fear of death. The super religious folks around me genuinely believe a sky daddy is going to send them to heaven so they will never cease to exist lol. They are probably happier than non-religious people who can't fool themselves about mortality. Duh.

Sorry, ignorance really is bliss.

+1
Level 65
Dec 6, 2020
This is wrong... New York Is not the saddest and Louisiana is happiest? Where did you get this data?
+1
Level 34
Oct 28, 2021
"Happy State"
+1
Level 57
Jan 28, 2022
lots of cope in the comments
+2
Level 86
Mar 5, 2022
Self-reporting is actually not a great way of measuring these things since I think Southerners are more likely than Northerners to say they're happy when they're not. A better technique would be to measure deaths of despair (drug addiction, alcoholism, suicide)
+1
Level 53
Apr 4, 2022
louisiana is literally the 2nd least happiest state lol
+1
Level 68
Apr 9, 2022
This is crazy, but interesting!
+1
Level 63
Apr 19, 2023
Wow, the poorest are the happiest...