Happiest States: Georgia's Ranking Is ... Upbeat

ATLANTA, GA — From warm temperatures year-round to sun and surf, there's not a lot of reason to be glum in Hawaii, which ranked first in an analysis that claims to report the happiest and unhappiest states in the U.S. And while Georgia has plenty of heat and humidity, the occasional brush with a hurricane and the Atlanta metro's seemingly endless traffic, it's offset by great food, beautiful scenery, a growing job sector and plenty to do. Which may be why Georgians are pretty darn upbeat, according to a new report.

To determine where Americans are the happiest, the personal finance website, WalletHub, examined the 50 states across 31 key metrics, ranging from depression rate, to job satisfaction, to separation and divorce rates.

Each relevant metric was then listed with its corresponding weight, and then graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing maximum happiness — the 31 weighted scores were then put together to give each state and individual score.

The Peach State ranked 17th on the list overall, making Georgians practically giddy, according to the report. Georgia finished 18th in "emotional and physical well-being," a lackluster 32nd in "work environment," and a solid 17th in "community and environment."

Money isn't a driver of happiness, but it can increase it, according to the study — "Happiness only increases with wealth up to an annual income of $75,000 to $95,000." An analysis from the journal Nature Human Behavior found that the $95,000 mark is ideal for "life evaluation," which includes long-term goals, peer comparisons, and other macro-level metrics.

These are the states that made the top 10 of WalletHub's rankings:

1. Hawaii: 66.48
2. Utah: 65.93
3. Minnesota: 65.57
4. California: 64.11
5. New Jersey: 60.54
6. Idaho: 60.51
7. Massachusetts: 60.50
8. Maryland: 59.53
9. Nebraska: 59.04
10. Connecticut: 57.93

Utah had the fewest hours worked in the country, as well as the highest volunteer rates, and the lowest divorce rate. Texas on the other hand finished as the least safe state in the U.S., and Oregon had the highest share of adult depression.

West Virginia took home the lowly honor of the unhappiest state.

Overall the 10 least happiest states in the country were:

40. New Mexico: 44.91
41. Missouri: 42.99
42. Tennessee: 42.75
43. Oklahoma: 40.56
44. Alabama: 40.11
45. Kentucky: 38.86
46. Louisiana: 38.41
47. Mississippi: 38.28
48. Alaska: 36.48
49. Arkansas: 34.07
50. West Virginia: 33.73