96
THE BIG FINISH
WRAP YOUR HEAD AROUND THE MARKET'S LEADING INDICATORS
THE KEY TO HOMEBUYERS' HAPPINESS?
Location, Location, Location
They say happiness is a state of mind, but what if it's actually dependent on the location a homebuyer chooses to lay down
roots? According to WalletHub, previous studies have found that good economic, emotional, physical, and social health are
all key to a well-balanced and fulfilled life. So which housing markets will give homebuyers all of those benefits? In order
to determine the happiest states in America, WalletHub's analysts compared the 50 states across three key dimensions
including, emotional and physical wellness, work environment and community and environment.WalletHub's utilizes those
dimensions using 28 relevant metrics—with each metric graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing
maximum happiness.
Finally, WalletHub calculated each state's weighted average across all metrics to calculate its total score and used the
resulting scores to rank-order in its sample.
To determine the happiest locations in America, WalletHub's analysts released its 2017's Happiest States in America report,
which compared the 50 states across the key dimensions of emotional and physical well-being, work environment, and
community and environment.
96
Overall Rank State Total Score
Emotional & Physical
Well-Being Rank
Work Environment
Rank
Community &
Environment Rank
1
Minnesota
70.81 5 5 3
2
Utah
68.16 24 1 1
3
Hawaii
67.90 1 10 19
4
California
66.55 2 21 21
5
Nebraska
65.65 4 15 17
6
New Jersey
64.97 3 41 8
7
South Dakota
64.71 6 16 12
8
Iowa
64.52 12 8 7
9
Wisconsin
64.16 11 9 10
10
New Hampshire
63.47 18 22 2
