Hawaii Tops U.S. in Wellbeing for Record 7th Time

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Hawaii residents reported the highest wellbeing in the U.S. in 2018, reaching the top spot for the seventh time since Gallup began tracking wellbeing in 2008. Hawaii and Colorado have ranked among the top 10 states in wellbeing for the 11^th consecutive year, the only two states to do so. West Virginia residents reported the lowest wellbeing for the 10^th straight year.

	Highest 10	Well-Being Index score	Lowest 10	Well-Being Index score
	Hawaii	64.6	West Virginia	57.0
	Wyoming	64.2	Arkansas	58.7
	Alaska	63.9	Kentucky	58.8
	Montana	63.5	Mississippi	58.9
	Utah	63.4	Tennessee	59.5
	Colorado	63.4	Oklahoma	59.8
	Vermont	63.3	Alabama	59.9
	Delaware	62.9	Louisiana	60.0
	South Dakota	62.7	Illinois	60.3
	North Dakota	62.7	Indiana	60.3
Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index

Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Utah -- all states that have frequented the top 10 list in past years -- rounded out the top five in 2018. Arkansas, which was ranked 48^th in 2017 and 2009, was ranked 49^th in 2018 -- its lowest level ever -- and was followed by Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee.

These state-level data are based on more than 115,000 surveys with U.S. adults across all 50 states, conducted in all 12 months of 2018. The Well-Being Index is calculated on a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 represents the lowest possible wellbeing and 100 represents the highest possible wellbeing. The Well-Being Index score for the nation and for each state comprises metrics affecting overall wellbeing and each of the five essential elements of wellbeing:

• Career: 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

Gallup has been tracking wellbeing nationally since 2008. Career wellbeing was previously named "purpose wellbeing," but the definition has remained constant.

As in prior years, wellbeing in the U.S. exhibits regional patterns. The Northern Plains and Mountain West are higher wellbeing areas, along with some Western states and pockets of the Northeast and Atlantic. The lowest wellbeing states are concentrated in the South and extend northward through the industrial Midwest.

Wellbeing Declines Across U.S. for Second Straight Year

Wellbeing in the U.S., overall, continued to decline in 2018, with the national Well-Being Index score sliding to 61.2 from 61.5 in 2017. This extends a deterioration that began in 2017; over the past two years, the Well-Being Index has dropped 0.9 points.

While the declines were not as acute as in 2017, 2018 saw a continuation of some of the same narratives that were used to describe 2017's drop, including erosion in social and career wellbeing. Not all elements, however, suffered from these declines. Physical wellbeing improved in 2018, while financial and community wellbeing were unchanged.

	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	Change since 2016	Change since 2017
Well-Being Index	61.6	61.7	62.1	61.5	61.2	-0.9*	-0.3*
Physical score	61.0	60.9	61.1	60.5	61.0	-0.1	+0.5*
Community score	61.2	61.2	61.9	62.0	61.9	0.0	-0.1
Financial score	59.7	60.8	61.5	61.1	61.0	-0.5*	-0.1
Social score	61.1	61.1	61.5	59.9	59.7	-1.8*	-0.2*
Career score	60.2	60.5	61.1	59.7	59.5	-1.6*	-0.2*
* Indicates statistically significant (p<.05) change
Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index

The less-severe drop nationally in 2018 was characterized by a much more balanced performance among states -- nearly as many had statistical improvements (seven) as declines (eight) when compared with the 2017 measurement. This was a far different year-over-year outcome than the record-setting change among states in 2017, when 21 states suffered a significant decline in wellbeing against no states that improved.

States that improved in 2018 were Alaska, Delaware, Wyoming, Nevada, Louisiana, Washington and Ohio. States that declined were Florida, Illinois, Alabama, New York, Texas, North Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee.

Hawaii Leads All States in Three Elements

Hawaii topped all states in three elements in 2018, leading the U.S. in career, social and financial wellbeing. Hawaii is also the only state to be among the top-ranked states in all five elements. Delaware and Vermont followed Hawaii in social wellbeing, while Utah and Wyoming rounded out the top three in career wellbeing. Alaska and North Dakota were other top states for financial wellbeing.

Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, all from the Mountain West, were the top three states in community wellbeing. Colorado, a perennial top state in physical wellbeing, was edged out only by Alaska and was followed by Wyoming.

Implications

The major headwinds in wellbeing nationally that were present in 2017 were less prevalent in 2018, as the U.S. decline compared with the year before was much milder. The associated net change among states in 2018 reflected this, resulting in a more balanced year-over-year change. Still, the national decline in wellbeing since 2016's high point has widened, revealing a substantial two-year drop.

Improving and sustaining high wellbeing is vital to any population's overall health and to its economy. Prior research has shown that high wellbeing closely relates to key health outcomes such as lower rates of healthcare utilization, workplace absenteeism and workplace performance, reduction in obesity status, and the new occurrence of chronic diseases. Wellbeing is also a predictor of numerous business outcomes such as employee engagement, customer engagement, turnover and workplace safety, which can affect a state's ability to reach its economic potential. Recent research has also shown a strong link globally between wellbeing and migration intent.

The crucial importance of holistic wellbeing, too, is underscored by the 2018 results. Research has shown that having high wellbeing across most or all elements results in a variety of better outcomes than for physical wellbeing alone. Hawaii's reascent to its No. 1 ranking aptly reflects this, as Hawaii is the only state to rank in the top five across all five essential elements of wellbeing, demonstrating the usefulness of focusing on all of its aspects.

Regardless of national trends, states' efforts to improve wellbeing should be customized to meet the unique needs of local constituencies. By focusing on all five elements of wellbeing, states can maximize the return on their investment when designing and implementing initiatives to improve wellbeing.

Specific interventions include working with schools, employers, grocery stores and restaurants to foster healthier practices. Other initiatives can involve working with government and various agencies to enact changes that increase opportunities for healthier lifestyles and community life, like more walkable and bike-friendly environments, farmers markets and social activities.

Regardless of specific programs or actions, potentially the most important aspect to a successful program is strong, uniform, sustained and visible support from governmental and organizational leadership, which can play a pivotal role in providing the foundation upon which a culture of wellbeing can be built.

Learn more about how the Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index works.

	2018 sample size	Well-Being Index	Career	Social	Financial	Community	Physical
Alabama	1,656	44	18	37	45	17	48
Alaska	212	3	5	8	2	23	1
Arizona	2,347	15	8	11	26	15	17
Arkansas	1,129	49	49	50	50	38	46
California	10,542	14	22	10	27	39	9
Colorado	2,316	6	11	6	10	11	2
Connecticut	1,415	16	38	16	21	41	5
Delaware	386	8	26	2	4	22	10
Florida	6,928	20	13	5	36	21	16
Georgia	2,994	23	17	15	40	28	21
Hawaii	502	1	1	1	1	4	4
Idaho	762	22	23	38	33	3	32
Illinois	4,618	42	43	43	35	46	29
Indiana	2,667	41	31	41	30	33	44
Iowa	1,612	26	25	39	15	10	36
Kansas	1,336	35	28	46	29	27	37
Kentucky	1,672	48	47	47	42	32	49
Louisiana	1,345	43	20	12	47	48	42
Maine	656	21	21	23	22	12	25
Maryland	2,185	32	32	14	18	47	24
Massachusetts	2,658	17	35	7	19	18	13
Michigan	4,369	33	34	33	25	31	30
Minnesota	2,872	12	12	32	8	8	20
Mississippi	922	47	27	48	49	45	47
Missouri	2,739	40	29	35	34	35	40
Montana	488	4	4	19	17	2	7
Nebraska	1,007	18	10	30	20	16	26
Nevada	854	19	16	17	11	37	31
New Hampshire	606	11	45	13	5	13	8
New Jersey	2,837	31	41	9	28	40	19
New Mexico	786	30	9	24	38	49	18
New York	6,038	37	46	29	41	43	22
North Carolina	3,676	36	33	27	39	20	38
North Dakota	340	10	7	31	3	7	33
Ohio	5,187	38	36	36	31	36	39
Oklahoma	1,386	45	37	42	46	44	43
Oregon	1,833	28	48	25	32	19	15
Pennsylvania	5,617	34	42	26	24	34	35
Rhode Island	442	25	40	44	16	42	12
South Carolina	1,896	39	19	34	37	25	41
South Dakota	402	9	6	21	12	6	27
Tennessee	2,454	46	44	45	44	30	45
Texas	7,121	29	15	22	43	26	34
Utah	1,214	5	2	4	13	9	14
Vermont	283	7	14	3	9	5	6
Virginia	3,181	27	30	28	23	29	23
Washington	3,043	13	24	20	7	24	11
West Virginia	669	50	50	49	48	50	50
Wisconsin	3,247	24	39	40	14	14	28
Wyoming	219	2	3	18	6	1	3
Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index