Minnesota Listed As 3rd Happiest State In 2020
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Ranking states by happiness seems like a strange thing to do in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, the country's politics are divisive as ever, and millions are without work.
But WalletHub did it anyway. According to the credit score website, Minnesota is the third happiest state in the nation, earning high marks for "emotional and physical well-being" and "work environment." The Land of 10,000 Lakes is also among the top states for the "Community and Environment" category.
States ahead of Minnesota on the list were Hawaii (No. 1) and Utah. Rounding out the top five were New Jersey and Maryland. Wisconsin came in at No. 18.
WalletHub says its listmakers looked at happiness research to figure out which metrics to examine at while evaluating states. They ended up zeroing in on 32 metrics -- such as income growth, suicide rate and even COVID-19 testing -- to rank the 50 states.
The states at the bottom of the list were Oklahoma, Arkansas and West Virginia.