If happiness is a state of mind, Boulder, Colorado would be its capital.
Where you live, it turns out, makes a difference in the happiness level, but plenty of other factors can make up for a less than ideal hometown.
The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index is a 25-year in-depth study of Americans’ overall satisfaction with life. Gallup has interviewed more than a million Americans since 2008, enough to map our happiness.
But the Gallup research digs deeper, beyond vague feelings of “happiness,” to gather more measurable data on 55 aspects of overall well-being – everything from emotional and physical health, to how satisfied we are with work.
In terms of states, Hawaii (no surprise) is the happiest of all, but don’t assume it is just the weather. North Dakota, Wyoming, and Alaska join Colorado and Hawaii in the top five.
(WATCH the Sunday Morning feature below, or READ the article at CBS)