Several factors can contribute to someone being miserable, including the state of their home life, their physical and mental healthcare needs, whether they drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes and where they live.
A study carried out across the U.S. found out which states are the least and most miserable, scoring states out of 100. Read on to find out which state takes the top spot.
New Mexico – 43.49
Out of all the unhappy states, New Mexico is slightly higher on the list. Despite this, it doesn’t diminish the fact that many of its residents are unhappy.
It has many environmental issues, such as wildfires and water shortages. This means the state often experiences droughts, leaving its residents struggling. It also has quite a high suicide rate and spends billions of dollars annually on road repairs.
Alaska – 42.2
While Alaska isn’t necessarily the unhappiest state to live in, it certainly isn’t the happiest. The state scored low in emotional and physical well-being, work environment, and community and environment.
Alaska also has high suicide rates and also has slower rates of income growth. These are just some of the areas the state needs to improve on to increase the happiness rates of the population.
Mississippi – 41.42
Mississippi has a population of 2.93 million people. While this is considered a small population compared to other U.S. states, the happiness score suggests that many people here are unhappy.
It has a divorce rate of 14.1% and scored relatively low in the emotional and physical well-being categories. The state also has increasing obesity rates, poverty and limited job opportunities that drive the mood down in the Magnolia State.
Alabama – 40.82
Alabama is in the middle of the list. While some issues, such as insomnia and poor healthcare systems, are affecting its residents, it also has some positive points.
The good things about living in Alabama include having a rich historical heritage, an affordable cost of living and natural beauty to take in. Unfortunately, in Alabama’s case, the negatives outweighed the positives.
Oklahoma – 40.69
Oklahoma is most famous for its oil production and agriculture. While many people might love the rural way of life, clearly, not everyone feels this way due to the Sooner State’s low happiness score.
Despite being famous for agriculture, Oklahoma lacks access to healthy food, significantly affecting the population’s well-being. It also has high poverty rates due to high unemployment rates.
Kentucky – 40.58
Kentucky is most famous for being the birthplace of KFC, which likely brings many people happiness. However, not even a KFC can salvage the happiness of the Kentucky people.
It has high obesity rates in both adults and children and has a depression rate of 27.6%. The Bluegrass State also has improper waste disposal, water pollution and contamination issues.
Arkansas – 39.72
Arkansas’ score has increased slightly since 2022, when it was the third unhappiest state with a score of 38.23. Despite going up slightly, several factors remain contributing to the Bear State’s unhappy population.
It has a high depression rate and scores pretty low on the emotional well-being scale. This is possibly due to people living here having little access to healthy food, high poverty rates and a lack of public transportation.
Tennessee – 38.3
Tennessee is the third unhappiest state to live in. While it currently has the fastest growing population at 7 million, it is also home to the 6th unhappiest city in the U.S.: Memphis.
Over 13% of Tennessee residents live below the poverty line, which means financial stress is likely a key reason for people in the Volunteer State’s unhappy mood.
Louisiana – 35.86
Louisiana is the second-most unhappiest state in the whole of the U.S. This might not surprise those who live there, especially as it scored the lowest for safety.
It also scores low for poverty, employment rates and emotional and physical well-being. People living there also feel the community spirit and environment aren’t very good, so it scored low in that as well.
West Virginia – 35
West Virginia is the most miserable U.S. state. It has an overall score of 35, so if you are considering moving states, it might be best to stay away from there.
It scored pretty low in sleep rates, with it being quite well-known that you need a good night’s sleep to take on the day. It also has one of the highest numbers of people suffering from depression and poor mental health rates.
Boosting the Scores for U.S. States
Learning of these low scores means that the people living in these miserable U.S. states and their officials will likely be wondering how they can raise their scores and make their state a better place to live.
Often, this can be down to politicians’ views, priorities and the budget for each state. This is why the budgets need to be prioritized in the areas each state scored low in to boost morale and make them a better and happier place to live.
