It seems like every other day there is one of these silly list that ranks states according to something or the other. We gravitate to the ones that shed good light on our state and get a little ticked when we're towards the bottom.

The new list I'm about to tell you about will have you feeling the latter.

A new study by MagnifyMoney determined the "Happiest States in the U.S." and Louisiana finished dead last.

Seriously?

First off, what were the criteria you may ask? Well, they evaluated how each of the 50 states rank on 20 factors in the categories of health, lifestyle, and prosperity. And based on analysis of those elements, their study found the state where you live may impact your baseline level of happiness.

After putting all their info in a blender, Louisiana got a final score of 29.8, which as you already know, was last. We ranked 37th in "Health", 50th in "Lifestyle" and 50th in "Economic Stability".

Minnesota was the top dog with a final score of 73.3.

Back to our bottom ranking and why we ended up there. We had a lot of poor rankings in the key areas that were analyzed.

Things like:

  • 50th in the percentage of people married with and without children.
  • 50th in volunteering (18.40%)
  • 42nd in the percentage of people who exercise (28.20%)
  • 49th in the percentage of people with a late payment in their credit history
  • 41st in unemployment rate (7.10%)
  • 47th in median household income with an average of $45,146.

To see the complete list of state rankings along with a detailed explanation of the methodology, click here.

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