The happiest states in the US, ranked

• 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

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 50

Work environment rank: 50

Community and environment rank: 40

49. Louisiana

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 49

Work environment rank: 49

Community and environment rank: 38

48. Arkansas

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 47

Work environment rank: 47

Community and environment rank: 30

47. Alaska

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 38

Work environment rank: 44

Community and environment rank: 50

46. Kentucky

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 48

Work environment rank: 41

Community and environment rank: 25

45. Alabama

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 45

Work environment rank: 35

Community and environment rank: 36

44. New Mexico

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 36

Work environment rank: 48

Community and environment rank: 37

43. Wyoming

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 40

Work environment rank: 42

Community and environment rank: 35

42. Oregon

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 44

Work environment rank: 38

Community and environment rank: 29

41. Tennessee

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 41

Work environment rank: 14

Community and environment rank: 44

40. Oklahoma

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 46

Work environment rank: 43

Community and environment rank: 4

39. Ohio

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 39

Work environment rank: 32

Community and environment rank: 26

38. Michigan

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 32

Work environment rank: 45

Community and environment rank: 28

37. Mississippi

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 35

Work environment rank: 46

Community and environment rank: 12

36. Colorado

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 28

Work environment rank: 23

Community and environment rank: 49

35. Texas

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 24

Work environment rank: 30

Community and environment rank: 46

34. Maine

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 42

Work environment rank: 10

Community and environment rank: 20

33. Indiana

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 34

Work environment rank: 19

Community and environment rank: 21

32. Nevada

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 37

Work environment rank: 39

Community and environment rank: 5

31. Missouri

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 33

Work environment rank: 15

Community and environment rank: 24

30. Montana

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 43

Work environment rank: 7

Community and environment rank: 10

29. Rhode Island

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 23

Work environment rank: 26

Community and environment rank: 45

28. Delaware

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 14

Work environment rank: 28

Community and environment rank: 47

27. Wisconsin

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 30

Work environment rank: 18

Community and environment rank: 34

26. Illinois

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 13

Work environment rank: 40

Community and environment rank: 42

25. Pennsylvania

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 20

Work environment rank: 37

Community and environment rank: 27

24. South Dakota

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 29

Work environment rank: 2

Community and environment rank: 41

23. Kansas

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 26

Work environment rank: 12

Community and environment rank: 31

22. Vermont

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 31

Work environment rank: 9

Community and environment rank: 7

21. Florida

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 9

Work environment rank: 29

Community and environment rank: 48

20. Iowa

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 27

Work environment rank: 16

Community and environment rank: 16

19. Washington

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 18

Work environment rank: 25

Community and environment rank: 33

18. Georgia

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 21

Work environment rank: 22

Community and environment rank: 22

17. Arizona

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 16

Work environment rank: 33

Community and environment rank: 13

16. Virginia

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 10

Work environment rank: 31

Community and environment rank: 32

15. South Carolina

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 25

Work environment rank: 13

Community and environment rank: 3

14. North Carolina

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 15

Work environment rank: 21

Community and environment rank: 15

13. Massachusetts

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 7

Work environment rank: 17

Community and environment rank: 43

12. North Dakota

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 22

Work environment rank: 4

Community and environment rank: 6

11. New York

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 3

Work environment rank: 34

Community and environment rank: 39

10. New Hampshire

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 12

Work environment rank: 8

Community and environment rank: 14

9. California

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 4

Work environment rank: 36

Community and environment rank: 19

8. Minnesota

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 8

Work environment rank: 11

Community and environment rank: 17

7. Connecticut

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 5

Work environment rank: 27

Community and environment rank: 9

6. Nebraska

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 11

Work environment rank: 6

Community and environment rank: 8

5. Maryland

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 6

Work environment rank: 20

Community and environment rank: 11

4. Idaho

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 19

Work environment rank: 3

Community and environment rank: 2

3. Utah

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 17

Work environment rank: 1

Community and environment rank: 1

2. New Jersey

Emotional and physical well-being rank: 1

Work environment rank: 24

Community and environment rank: 23

1. Hawaii

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