State of the States

Overall well-being, life evaluation, emotional health, physical health, healthy behavior, work environment, and basic access based on Gallup-Healthways data from 2009.

Some observations:

Hawaii’s residents had the highest well-being in the nation in 2009, pulling ahead of 2008 leader Utah, and coming in with a new high state Well-Being Index score of 70.2. Utah and Montana are also among the top well-being states in the country, sharing the same score of 68.3. Kentucky (62.3) and West Virginia (60.5) have the two lowest well-being scores, as they did in 2008.

Among the nation’s 52 largest metropolitan areas that Gallup surveyed in 2009, San Jose, Calif., had the highest well-being in the nation followed closely by Washington, D.C., according to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. Rounding out the top five well-being cities are Raleigh, N.C., Minneapolis, and San Francisco.

Las Vegas ranked last in 2009 in overall well-being among all large cities, defined as those with a population size of 1 million or greater, with Providence, R.I.; Jackson[ville], Fla.; Tampa, Fla.; Louisville, Ky.; and Cleveland just ahead. Tampa, Jacksonville, and Miami gave the state of Florida the negative distinction of having three large metro areas in the bottom 10 in well-being for the year. Detroit, New Orleans, and Birmingham, Ala., round out the list. The regional breakdown in well-being scores is largely consistent with Gallup-Healthways state-level findings, which find higher than average scoring cities in the West and lower than average scoring cities in the South.

Four of the top ten states in church attendance rank among the bottom in well-being.

Three of the top ten states in well-being rank among the bottom in church attendance.

(Though, in fairness, Nevada is low in both and Utah high in both.)

One thought on “State of the States”

  1. In regards to San Jose and San Francisco having drivers with “well being” does that also translate “drives like I am the only person on the road”?

    Because I’m here to testify, that’s what they do.

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