Tennessee Ranks a Dismal 47th in State Happiness Rankings.

by Rod Williams, Sept. 15, 2024- WalletHub has ranked the 50 states as to happiness with "1" being the state with the happiest people and "50" being the state with the least happy people. Tennessee ranks a dismal 47th. 

When seeing this ranking, I thought that could not be right. I think Tennessee is a great place to live and feel fortunate that this is home. A lot of people are leaving states like California which ranks 13th and moving to Tennessee which ranks 47th. I was surprised at Tennessee's low ranking. 

I am also surprised that Louisiana ranks the least happy. My daughter used to live in New Orleans and loved it and I visited quite often. I would think Louisiana would be one of the happiest states, not dead last.

I thought I would probably disagree with the factors that went into creating the ranking. There are 30 key metrics examined, everything from weather to rate of unemployment to divorce rates to suicide rates to job satisfaction to health factors including people experiencing depression. While I might could quibble a little with the weight given some of the factors, overall, I think the factors considered are valid. I do think level of taxation should be a factor, but it is not. It seems that not have a state income tax should at least be worth a couple points. Having natural beauty and mountains and access to the great outdoors should also get a couple points. I would also give Tennessee a point or two for our musical heritage and opportunity to enjoy live music, but that's just me. I might would include some other factors, but I don't know they would do much to change the overall ranking. 

Happiness may be hard to measure. If you are employed, have an adequate income, are healthy, and the weather is great, if you are in a bad relationship, life can still be miserable. It seems to be that if all of the other factors are great and you are sick, you could be very unhappy. So, I am not sure happiness can be measured with any accuracy. Still, I am surprised at Tennessee's low ranking. 

To see the full study follow this link. 

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