Wyoming On Top 5 List Of Well-Being

Healthy & happy make for a good life. and we've got it good here in Wyoming. We’re ranked at number five on the list of overall health and happiness. Only four other states rank higher in happiness, smiling, laughter and enjoyment. Lower stress, smoking and obesity rates also make this a pretty good place to live.

The top five states for overall well-being are:

1. Hawaii
2. Alaska
3. Montana
4. Colorado
5. Wyoming

Eight years ago, Gallup-Healthways started tracking state rankings of residents overall feelings of how they feel about life in their state. Wyoming must have surprised a lot of people by making the top five list.

Principal research Director Dan Witters told Today

"Hawaiians rate their lives pretty high… things like enjoyment, smiling and laughter and happiness are all very high in Hawaii. And stress is very low. Hawaii has the lowest depression rate and the best exercise rate in the nation.”

The bottom five states:

50. West Virginia
51. Kentucky
52. Oklahoma
53. Ohio
54. Indiana

Hawaii reclaimed the top spot for well-being. Alaska, slipped to second. Montana, Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, Utah, Arizona and California make up the rest of the top 10 list. For the seventh year in a row, Kentucky and West Virginia have the lowest well-being in the nation ranking 49th and 50th respectively.

Glad to be here in The Cowboy State.