LEE COUNTY, Fla. -- Florida may have a reputation for being full of crazy people, but one study indicates that it's also full of happy people.
The financial news website 24/7 Wall St. has published their findings for the top 10 happiest and most miserable states in the country, and Florida has just jumped into the top 10.
The website used data from the Gallup-Healthways 2016 Well-Being Index, based on 177,192 telephone interviews with U.S. adults across all 50 states in 2016. Gallup combined five separate essential elements of well-being — purpose, social, financial, community, and physical. report the highest well-being of any state.
In addition to the index, 24/7 Wall St. considered data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2015 American Community Survey, including median household income, poverty rates, uninsured rates, and adult educational attainment rates.
And their findings revealed Florida came in at #10 on the happiest states list, jumping into that spot from traditionally low or middle rankings. "Florida residents report a higher well-being in the purpose, community, social relationships, and physical health elements than a majority of states," they write.
Hawaii scored the top spot on the list, reporting the highest well-being of any state.
The lowest scores of the survey came from West Virginia, which has the highest unemployment rate and the lowest college attainment rate of any state. West Virginians surveyed by Gallup reported having the lowest sense of purpose of all states.
