What makes you happy?
It certainly is a loaded questions that so many of us are constantly trying to figure out an answer to.
Some will say family and good health, while others will pick materialistic things, like money or a big house, but it is so much more complicated than that.
Overall, Americans are fairly happy people, despite the nation's current socio-political climate. The United States sits at number 18 on the 2018 World Happiness Report, down four spots from last year. They may not be in the top 10, but they're ahead of 138 other countries.
This week, WalletHub released its annual Happiest States in America report, revealing where exactly the happiest and unhappiest Americans live as well as the factors that come into play when measuring happiness.
The personal finance website took into account factors such as mental health, income growth, and where we choose to live to rank the happiness levels of all 50 states.
To no ones surprise, the nugget of paradise that is Hawaii is found to be the happiest state in the U.S. with a score of 68.27 out of 100. Following closely behind is Utah then Minnesota, North Dakota and California.
Idaho, Maryland, Iowa, South Dakota and Nebraska round out the top 10.
As for the least happiest, not much has changed since 2017. At the bottom of the happiness list is West Virginia with only 33.42 points. Arkansas, Louisiana, Alaska, and Oklahoma, Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, and New Mexico complete the rest of the bottom 10.
The report also highlighted the best and worst states in terms of adult depression, suicide, long-term unemployment rate, volunteer hours, and separation and divorce rate.
New York, which ranks at number 14 for overall happiness, has the lowest share of adult depression at 11.70 percent. Oregon is the state with the highest rate at 25.54 percent.
Suicide rates have been rising steadily in almost every state over the last decade, but in New Jersey the number is relatively low. They have the country's fewest suicides, 7 out of 100,000 residents, which is 3.7 times fewer than Montana, which has the most at 26.
As for marriages, they seem to last longer in Utah, where the separation and divorce rate is a low 16.18 percent. Nevada has the highest at 26.57 percent.
If safety is a priority for you, consider moving to Vermont as it is ranked the safest state. Mississippi is the total opposite. However, if boosting your income is more important, North Dakota is the place you'll want to be. They have the highest income growth and the lowest long-term unemployment rate.
Finally, WalletHub shows us those in South Dakota get the most sleep, while Colorado residents exercise the most.
