Things have been stressful the last few years, so it would make some sense that North Carolina wouldn’t necessarily be the happiest state in the country.
And while things are certainly not TERRIBLE here, North Carolina only comes in as the 20th happiest state in America, according to a recent study from our friends at WalletHub.
“To determine where Americans exhibit the best combination of these factors, we examined the 50 states across 30 key metrics, ranging from the depression rate and the share of adults feeling productive to income growth and the unemployment rate,” WalletHub said in the study.
When you dive into the data, you feel the middle-of-the-pack Eeyore-like happiness we are experiencing here. Here’s where North Carolina ranked among the 50 states in a number of key metrics, with 1 being the happiest and 25 being average:
- 29th – % of Depressed Adults
- 20th – Adequate-Sleep Rate
- 14th – Suicide Rate
- 28th – % of Civilian Labor Force Unemployed 15 Weeks or Longer
- 30th – Volunteer Rate
- 29th – Separation & Divorce Rate
- 13th – Income Growth
- 19th – Safety
- 29th – Share of Adults Feeling Active & Productive
The good people of Hawaii ranked as the happiest in the country, and why wouldn’t they? And the least happy state? Well, that goes to West Virginia, where economic impacts have kept things feeling pretty rough for a while now.
“Research suggests that having more money is associated with greater happiness on average – but only to a certain extent,” Dr. Emily C. Willroth, Assistant Professor, Psychological & Brain Sciences – Washington University in St. Louis told WalletHub. “Above a certain income level, income and happiness are less strongly related. This might suggest that money can buy happiness when it is used to meet basic needs and remove financial strain. Beyond that, money may be less important for happiness.”
So what does the rest of the country look like? We take a dive through the rankings here to show you the top and the bottom of the list of the happiest states in the country, where North Carolina came in at No. 20 overall.
