The happiest states in the US, ranked
New Jersey was ranked among the happiest states in America. andykazie/Getty Images Your level of happiness can be affected by external factors, such as work and community. A WalletHub study examined three different categories to determine which states are happiest. Here are the 50 states, ranked from the least to the most happy. Happiness may come from within, but external factors can still play a role in how happy you feel. Even if you're a glass-half-full kind of person, factors like financial security, access to healthcare, and community can also impact your well-being. A recent WalletHub study ranked all 50 states based on metrics that measure residents' happiness. All states were compared across three categories: emotional and physical well-being, work environment, and community and environment . These dimensions were broken down into 30 metrics, graded on a 100-point scale to create a happiness score. The most heavily weighted category was emotional and physical well-being, which included metrics such as career well-being, physical health, the share of adults with depression, and life expectancy . Work environment metrics included the number of work hours and the share of households earning annual incomes above $75,000. For community and environment, the metrics included ideal weather, average daily leisure time , and safety. WalletHub's analysis used data from sources such as the US Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Gallup. Here are the 50 states, ranked from least to most happy. 50. West Virginia Charleston, West Virginia. Leonid Andronov/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 50 Work environment rank: 50 Community and environment rank: 40 49. Louisiana Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Sabrina Gordon/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 49 Work environment rank: 49 Community and environment rank: 38 48. Arkansas Little Rock, Arkansas. ChrisBoswell/Getty Images/iStockphoto Emotional and physical well-being rank: 47 Work environment rank: 47 Community and environment rank: 30 47. Alaska Juneau, Alaska. Lana2011/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 38 Work environment rank: 44 Community and environment rank: 50 46. Kentucky Frankfort, Kentucky. Sean Pavone/Getty Images/iStockphoto Emotional and physical well-being rank: 48 Work environment rank: 41 Community and environment rank: 25 45. Alabama Montgomery, Alabama. stockphoto52/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 45 Work environment rank: 35 Community and environment rank: 36 44. New Mexico Santa Fe, New Mexico. alexeys/Getty Images/iStockphoto Emotional and physical well-being rank: 36 Work environment rank: 48 Community and environment rank: 37 43. Wyoming Cheyenne, Wyoming. Ceri Breeze/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 40 Work environment rank: 42 Community and environment rank: 35 42. Oregon Salem, Oregon. Sean Pavone/Getty Images/iStockphoto Emotional and physical well-being rank: 44 Work environment rank: 38 Community and environment rank: 29 41. Tennessee Nashville, Tennessee. Bilanol/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 41 Work environment rank: 14 Community and environment rank: 44 40. Oklahoma Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. RudyBalasko/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 46 Work environment rank: 43 Community and environment rank: 4 39. Ohio Columbus, Ohio. Sean Pavone/Getty Images/iStockphoto Emotional and physical well-being rank: 39 Work environment rank: 32 Community and environment rank: 26 38. Michigan Lansing, Michigan. Sean Pavone/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 32 Work environment rank: 45 Community and environment rank: 28 37. Mississippi Jackson, Mississippi. CRobertson/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 35 Work environment rank: 46 Community and environment rank: 12 36. Colorado Denver, Colorado. KathyKafka/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 28 Work environment rank: 23 Community and environment rank: 49 35. Texas Austin, Texas. BackyardProduction/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 24 Work environment rank: 30 Community and environment rank: 46 34. Maine Augusta, Maine. Sean Pavone/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 42 Work environment rank: 10 Community and environment rank: 20 33. Indiana Indianapolis, Indiana. Ultima_Gaina/Getty Images/iStockphoto Emotional and physical well-being rank: 34 Work environment rank: 19 Community and environment rank: 21 32. Nevada Carson City, Nevada. Wirestock/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 37 Work environment rank: 39 Community and environment rank: 5 31. Missouri Jefferson City, Missouri. Ultima_Gaina/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 33 Work environment rank: 15 Community and environment rank: 24 30. Montana Helena, Montana. stockphoto52/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 43 Work environment rank: 7 Community and environment rank: 10 29. Rhode Island Providence, Rhode Island. Sanghwan Kim/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 23 Work environment rank: 26 Community and environment rank: 45 28. Delaware Dover, Delaware. Amy Sparwasser/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 14 Work environment rank: 28 Community and environment rank: 47 27. Wisconsin Madison, Wisconsin. marchello74/Getty Images/iStockphoto Emotional and physical well-being rank: 30 Work environment rank: 18 Community and environment rank: 34 26. Illinois Springfield, Illinois. Sean Pavone/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 13 Work environment rank: 40 Community and environment rank: 42 25. Pennsylvania Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. TW Farlow/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 20 Work environment rank: 37 Community and environment rank: 27 24. South Dakota Pierre, South Dakota. Nathan McDaniel/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 29 Work environment rank: 2 Community and environment rank: 41 23. Kansas Topeka, Kansas. Ultima_Gaina/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 26 Work environment rank: 12 Community and environment rank: 31 22. Vermont Montpelier, Vermont. Ultima_Gaina/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 31 Work environment rank: 9 Community and environment rank: 7 21. Florida Tallahassee, Florida. Dennis MacDonald/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 9 Work environment rank: 29 Community and environment rank: 48 20. Iowa Des Moines, Iowa. Sean Pavone/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 27 Work environment rank: 16 Community and environment rank: 16 19. Washington Olympia, Washington. John Callery/Getty Images/iStockphoto Emotional and physical well-being rank: 18 Work environment rank: 25 Community and environment rank: 33 18. Georgia Atlanta, Georgia. Sean Davis/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 21 Work environment rank: 22 Community and environment rank: 22 17. Arizona Phoenix, Arizona. eric1513/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 16 Work environment rank: 33 Community and environment rank: 13 16. Virginia Richmond, Virginia. Sean Pavone/Getty Images/iStockphoto Emotional and physical well-being rank: 10 Work environment rank: 31 Community and environment rank: 32 15. South Carolina Columbia, South Carolina. Sean Pavone/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 25 Work environment rank: 13 Community and environment rank: 3 14. North Carolina Raleigh, North Carolina. zimmytws/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 15 Work environment rank: 21 Community and environment rank: 15 13. Massachusetts Vadym Terelyuk/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 7 Work environment rank: 17 Community and environment rank: 43 12. North Dakota Bismarck, North Dakota. Jonathan W. Cohen/Getty Images/iStockphoto Emotional and physical well-being rank: 22 Work environment rank: 4 Community and environment rank: 6 11. New York Albany, New York. SerrNovik/Getty Images/iStockphoto Emotional and physical well-being rank: 3 Work environment rank: 34 Community and environment rank: 39 10. New Hampshire Concord, New Hampshire. Ultima_Gaina/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 12 Work environment rank: 8 Community and environment rank: 14 9. California Sacramento, California. MattGush/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 4 Work environment rank: 36 Community and environment rank: 19 8. Minnesota Saint Paul, Minnesota. RudyBalasko/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 8 Work environment rank: 11 Community and environment rank: 17 7. Connecticut Hartford, Connecticut. Vadym Terelyuk/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 5 Work environment rank: 27 Community and environment rank: 9 6. Nebraska Lincoln, Nebraska. Jacob Boomsma/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 11 Work environment rank: 6 Community and environment rank: 8 5. Maryland Annapolis, Maryland. Sean Pavone/Getty Images/iStockphoto Emotional and physical well-being rank: 6 Work environment rank: 20 Community and environment rank: 11 4. Idaho Boise, Idaho. christiannafzger/Getty Images/iStockphoto Emotional and physical well-being rank: 19 Work environment rank: 3 Community and environment rank: 2 3. Utah Salt Lake City, Utah. Vadym Terelyuk/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 17 Work environment rank: 1 Community and environment rank: 1 2. New Jersey Trenton, New Jersey. Ultima_Gaina/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 1 Work environment rank: 24 Community and environment rank: 23 1. Hawaii Honolulu, Hawaii. Iryna Olkhova/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 2 Work environment rank: 5 Community and environment rank: 18 With residents reporting the second-lowest rate of depression and high levels of life satisfaction, Hawaii was ranked the happiest state . This is owing to factors such as good physical health — about 84% of adults report being in good or better health — and low unemployment rates. Read the original article on Business Insider