The Happiest States In America: Where Illinois And Wisconsin Rank

Happiness is subjective, of course. As hard as it may be to believe, there are almost certainly miserable people in Hawaii, and somewhere out there is a person who is absolutely thrilled to live in Rhode Island.

Still, if you're curious about how happy Americans are based on where they live, a new study from personal-finance website WalletHub has put some numbers behind the question. And if you're from Illinois or Wisconsin, we've got some bragging rights (although perhaps not too many).

WalletHub compared all 50 states using 30 different measures related to happiness, including things like depression rates, physical health, sleep, life expectancy, unemployment, income growth, work hours, leisure time, safety, and even weather.

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Let's See What The Numbers Say About Illinois And Wisconsin

And when all those numbers were crunched, Illinois came in at #26 on the list of America's happiest states. Wisconsin was right behind us at #27. So, congratulations, Illinois, we are officially happier than Wisconsin. We'll take our victories wherever we can get them.

Our two states actually have some pretty interesting differences.

Illinois ranked 13th in the country for emotional and physical well-being, while Wisconsin came in at 30th. But when it comes to the workplace, Wisconsin turns the tables. The Badger State ranked 18th for work environment, compared with a dismal 40th for Illinois.

Wisconsin also did better in the "community and environment" category, ranking 34th compared with Illinois at 42nd.

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So, Which State Is The Happiest Of Them All?

At the very top of the happiness list was Hawaii, followed by New Jersey and Utah. At the other end of the spectrum was West Virginia, which ranked 50th.

WalletHub says the happiest states tend to offer a combination of good health care, strong economies, reasonable work-life balance, supportive communities and other factors that contribute to quality of life.

Of course, none of this means that somebody living in 26th-ranked Illinois is less happy than somebody living in #1 Hawaii. Happiness doesn't really work that way.

But if you live in Illinois, you can at least tell your friends in Wisconsin that the numbers say we're happier than they are.

For now, that's good enough.