Here’s How Happy North Carolina Is Compared To Everyone Else

NORTH CAROLINA — Happiness is a funny concept. It’s difficult to define, and even harder to measure. Most people say they’ve felt it, but each would give you a different reason as to why. Luckily, a new report claims to have taken the guesswork out of where people are most happy — and the answer appears to be the Midwest and Northwest.

Researchers at MagnifyMoney published the results of their study last week and found that North Carolina ranks 28th in America in happiness, sandwiched between Massachusetts and Florida.

Here’s how North Carolina ranked in each category:

• Final score: 47.8
• Health rank: 29
• Lifestyle rank: 23
• Economic stability rank: 42

The happiest state in America is Minnesota, the study found. South Dakota, Colorado, Utah and North Dakota rounded out the top five. South Dakota is the healthiest state, while Utah topped the list for both lifestyle and economic stability. Minnesota ranked in the top six in each category.

When it comes to exercise — a key factor of happiness — Montana, Oregon and Vermont topped the list, followed by Washington and New Hampshire.

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Meanwhile, Louisiana is the least happiest state, followed by Rhode Island, West Virginia, Alabama and Mississippi, the study found.

“According to our findings, Louisiana was the unhappiest state to live in, with an overall score of 29.8,” Brittney Laryea wrote for MagnifyMoney. “The state was weighed down by its bottom ranking in both lifestyle and prosperity factors, although it ranked a little higher in overall health.”

The study was inspired by a recent Oxford Economics study of what goes in to well-being, Laryea wrote. The Oxford study found that sleep was actually the No. 1 factor contributing to well-being.

You read that right. Catching some much needed Zs beat out health, lifestyle and economic factors. The federal Centers for Disease Control recommends adults sleep at least seven hours or more every night for “optimal health.” Not getting enough sleep is linked with an increased risk of numerous chronic diseases and conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, obesity and even depression.

“Happiness comes when you’re thriving in your relationships, career, finances, health and in your engagement with your community,” Victoria Craze, co-founder and life coach at Wellbeing Coaches, told MagnifyMoney. To come up with the rankings, MagnifyMoney gave health and lifestyle factors double the weight of economic stability. Within the health category, sleep received a triple weight.

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