The well-being and happiness of people in the United States took a hit in 2017, including the worst lows since the Great Recession. That's according to the annual Gallup-Sharecare Well-Being Index results released this month.
Last year, America saw the greatest year-over-year decline in well-being and happiness, with 21 states receiving a lower score than in 2016. Not only did 2017 mark the biggest decline in the survey's 10-year history, but it was also the first year in which not a single state improved in well-being, explains Dan Witters, the research director of the Well-being Index.
Each state's well-being was calculated on a scale of 0 to 100, with 0 marking the lowest score and 100 the highest. The scores comprised the following five elements:
- Purpose: Liking what you do each day and being motivated to achieve your goals
- Social: Having supportive relationships and love in your life
- Financial: Managing your economic life to reduce stress and increase security
- Community: Liking where you live, feeling safe, and having pride in your community
- Physical: Having good health and enough energy to get things done daily
A nationally representative sample of 160,498 adults were interviewed for the 2017 rankings, adding to the Well-Being Index's dataset of more than 2.5 million surveys since its 2008 start.
Here are the 10 U.S. states that have the unhappiest people and the lowest well-being scores:
10. Rhode Island (60.48)
9. Indiana (60.39)
8. Nevada (60.18)
7. Ohio (60.03)
6. Kentucky (59.85)
5. Oklahoma (59.66)
4. Mississippi (59.59)
3. Arkansas (59.36)
2. Louisiana (58.93)
1. West Virginia (58.80)