Hawaii was the happiest place to live in the U.S. in 2009, according to a newly released national survey. Hawaii also topped the charts for life evaluation, emotional health and physical health. Nine of the top 10 well-being states reside in the Midwest and the West. The results come from interviews with more than 350,000 American adults who took part in the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index in 2009. This is the second year of the survey. View the complete list of the happiest states on LiveScience.com.
The well-being score for each state is an average of six sub-categories, including: life evaluation (self-evaluation about your present life situation and anticipated one in five years); emotional health; work environment (such as job satisfaction); physical health; healthy behavior; basic access (access to healthcare, a doctor, a safe place to exercise and walk, as well as community satisfaction).
The top 10 states and their average well-being scores (out of a possible 100 points):
* Hawaii: 70.2
* Utah: 68.3
* Montana: 68.3
* Minnesota: 67.8
* Iowa: 67.6
* Vermont: 67.4
* Colorado: 67.3
* Alaska: 67.3
* North Dakota: 67.3
* Kansas: 67.2
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