Massachusetts is the happiest state in the country – at least according to a new study from the CBD Experts at Joy Organics.
The research focused on 10 factors rated one out of 10 to determine the rankings – including suicide rates, average hourly wage, severity of depression and anxiety, unemployment rates, number of primary care and mental health providers, adverse childhood experiences, neighborhood amenities and percentage of sleep-deprived residents.
Massachusetts ranked first on the happiness index with an overall score of 94.5 out of 100. Rhode Island and Connecticut followed second and third, with 84.3 and 83.9, respectively.
The full top 10 are as follows:
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| Rank | State | Happiness Index Score /100 |
| 1. | Massachusetts | 94.5 |
| 2. | Rhode Island | 84.3 |
| 3. | Connecticut | 83.9 |
| 4. | New York | 81.6 |
| 5. | Minnesota | 81.4 |
| 6. | New Jersey | 80.1 |
| 7. | Nebraska | 79.2 |
| 8. | Maryland | 78.7 |
| 9. | California | 77.7 |
| 10. | Illinois and Utah (Tie) | 76.7 |
“There are lots of ideas as to what constitutes happiness for different people. With this research, we aimed to include a number of factors that either influence a state’s happiness or serve as indicators of it,” a spokesperson for Joy Organics said. “Mental wellbeing, support and suicide rates were weighted more heavily in the ranking, accounting for a larger proportion of each state’s overall score, as these were deemed to be the most important factors."
