Kentucky and West Virginia came in at the bottom of the rankings for the sixth year in a row, Gallup said. Alaska rejoins the top five in 2014 after being among this elite group from 2009 to 2011, while Hawaii finished in the top two for the sixth time, improving from the eighth spot in 2013. The winner in 2013, North Dakota, saw a dramatic drop in its ranking, coming in 23rd in 2014. This drop was mostly due to a decline in North Dakotans' evaluation of their lives overall, and also an increase in unhealthy behaviors among the population, such as higher smoking rates and less exercise, compared with 2013, Gallup said. These state-level data are based on more than 176,000 interviews with U.S. adults across all 50 states, conducted from January to December 2014.  Alaska edged out Hawaii and is now at the top of the rankings of the nation's happiest states for the first time. [The Happiest States in 2014: Full List] 
 
 States in the Northern Plains and Mountain West tended to have higher well-being scores than states in the South and Midwest. Hawaii, Colorado Lead All States With Most Top 10 Rankings 
 
 Hawaii and Colorado are the only two states to be in the top 10 for well-being every year since tracking began in 2008. The researchers calculated a well-being score for each state, based on participants' answers to questions about different aspects of well-being, such as their sense of purpose, social relationships, financial lives, community involvement and physical health. Well-being is also a predictor of business outcomes such as employee engagement, customer engagement, turnover and workplace safety, which can affect a population's ability to reach its economic potential. States can implement initiatives to improve specific aspects of their residents' well-being — for example, they can work with schools, grocery stores and restaurants to include more wholesome food options, and they can work with the government and other entities to make changes that may improve community life, such as making areas more walkable or increasing the number of social activities, Gallup said. For results based on the total sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error for the Well-Being Index score is ±0.1 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
– Dark horse Alaska has come from behind to claim the title of the happiest state in the US, LiveScience reports. Snagging the designation from 2013 winner North Dakota, Alaska—which didn't even make the top 10 in 2013—topped Gallup's Well-Being Index in 2014 for the first time since tracking began in 2008. North Dakota crashed to the 23rd spot, while Hawaii, which has stayed in the top 10 every year, slid into second place. The top score, based on 176,000 interviews about health, finances, relationships, community, and purpose, fell from 70 out of 100 in 2013 to the mid-60s. Here's how other states fared: Alaska: 64.7 Hawaii: 64.5 South Dakota: 64.3 Wyoming: 63.9 Montana: 63.7 The unhappiest states: West Virginia: 59 Kentucky: 59.8 Indiana: 60 Ohio: 60.1 Mississippi: 60.2 Check out the full list or discover the world's happiest language.