At the same time, food and health-care insecurity and smoking rates fell. Obesity has continued its relentless upward climb, reaching a new high mark in 2015. The report, “State of American Well-Being: 2015 State Rankings”, provides an overview of well-being trends within the United States. Hawaii reclaimed the top spot among states in the U.S. for well-being as 2014’s highest well-being state, Alaska, slipped to second. Montana, Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, Utah, Arizona and California rounded out the rest of the top 10. Kentucky and West Virginia continued to have the lowest well-being in the nation, ranking 49th and 50th, respectively, for seven straight years. To discover where other states — including yours — fall within the rankings, download a copy of the report today. The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index uses a holistic definition of well-being and collects self-reported data from individuals across the globe to create a unique view of societies’ progress on the elements that matter most to well-being: purpose, social, financial, community and physical.
– Gallup is out with its annual poll trying to rank that most intangible of factors—a sense of "well-being"—in the US states. To do so, it questioned more than 177,000 people on topics ranging from having a sense of purpose to community to physical and financial health. Your winner? Yes, Hawaii. Generally speaking, the West is the most fulfilled region, claiming eight of the top 10 spots, while the South has seven of the bottom 10, notes the Washington Post. Here are the top and bottom five performers in the State of American Well-Being: Top five (in order): Hawaii, Alaska, Montana, Colorado, and Wyoming. Bottom five: Indiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, Kentucky, and West Virginia. Dig in to more results here.