The Happiest Cities and States in America
In 2009, Hawaii was the happiest state, and Boulder, Colo., was the happiest metropolitan region, according to data released by the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index.
Generally speaking, the states with the highest well-being were clustered in the West/Rocky Mountain region, and those with lower well-being were clustered in the Southeast.
The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index is based on a nationwide daily survey that tries to measure the ingredients of “the good life.” It is made up of six sub-indexes: life evaluation, emotional health, work environment, physical health, healthy behaviors and access to basic necessities like food and shelter.
Among states, Utah (2008’s well-being champion) and Montana tied for second place behind Hawaii. The states with the lowest levels of well-being were once again Kentucky and West Virginia.
Among metro regions, Boulder barely edged Honolulu and Holland-Grand Haven, Mich., to claim the top level of well-being. If you only look at the country’s biggest cities — those with populations of one million or more — the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif., area scored highest, followed by the metropolitan area encompassing the District of Columbia, Arlington and Alexandria in Virginia, and parts of nearby Maryland and West Virginia
Among the nation's largest cities, San Jose and D.C came in first and second while Raleigh/Cary (my hometown) came in third. San Francisco (my current city) came in at number 5.
Boulder came in first among all metro regions. With more than 300 days of sunshine a year, more than San Diego even, it's not hard to see why.
I've never been to Boulder but am going there in March to see a good buddy of mine and can't wait. Let's hope it lives up to the hype.
