State of American Well-Being

2017 State Well-Being Rankings

From Gallup-Sharecare, February, 2018

The Gallup-Sharecare Well-Being Index, which includes more than 2.5 million surveys, captures how people feel about and experience their daily lives. As part of the GallupSharecare State of American Well-Being series, this report examines well-being across the nation, including how well-being varies by state and which states lead and lag across the five elements of well-being.

The five elements are:

• Purpose: liking what you do each day and being motivated to achieve your goals

• Social: having supportive relationships and love in your life

• Financial: managing your economic life to reduce stress and increase security

• Community: liking where you live, feeling safe, and having pride in your community

• Physical: having good health and enough energy to get things done daily

Overall, 2017 was a challenging year for Americans’ well-being. The national Well-Being Index score for the U.S. in 2017 was 61.5 – a decline from 62.1 in 2016. This overall drop was characterized by declines in 21 states, easily the largest year-over-year decline in the 10-year history of the Well-Being Index. Not a single state showed statistically significant improvement compared to the previous year, which is also unprecedented in Well-Being Index measurement.

In the state rankings, South Dakota and Vermont, followed by Hawaii, were the highest well-being states in 2017. South Dakota has ranked among the highest six states every year since 2013 and Vermont, which had the sixth highest well-being in 2016, shares the highest well-being score (64.1) in 2017. Neither state had scored at the top of the well-being state rankings before. Hawaii, which along with Colorado holds the distinction of ranking in the top 10 highest well-being states each year since 2008, ranked just below South Dakota and Vermont in 2017 with a score of 63.4. In 2016, Hawaii was ranked in first place with a 65.2 well-being score.

Residents of West Virginia reported the lowest levels of well-being in 2017 for the ninth consecutive year with a well-being score of 58.8. Louisiana fell to its lowest rank ever, recording a score of 58.9, just above West Virginia.

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Hawaii

• 2017 Rank – 3rd
• Well-Being Index Score -- 63.4
• Purpose Rank – 3rd
• Social Rank – 3rd
• Financial Rank -- 10th 
• Community Rank -- 4th
• Physical Rank -- 9th