Hawaii becomes the Happiest State in America for 2020

In a world where people are petrified by the ongoing pandemic, the naturally socially distanced beach state of Hawaii has become the Happiest State in America in 2020. The same has been revealed in a study conducted by WalletHub (a finance website). The website looked at each of the 50 states with 32 metrics, and Hawaii topped the chart. Utah, Minnesota, New Jersey, Maryland, California, North Dakota, Iowa, Idaho, and Connecticut also made to the top 10 list, respectively.

The website, in order to measure happiness, used three dimensions on a 100-point scale, which are emotional and physical well-being (50 points), work environment (25 points) and community and environment (25 points).
The firm tried searching for the state where people were positive despite the circumstances.

Though Hawaii secured first position overall, it came in second for Emotional and Physical Well-being after New Jersey, and third for Community and Environment after Utah and Idaho.
Dr. Chieh-Chen Bowen of Cleveland State University said, “Happiness is a feeling of joy, contentment, and overall positive emotions. Happiness is a universal goal. We all want to be happy and want such feelings to last.”

The finance firm has been conducting the Happiest State study since 2014, but this year makes all the difference. In its statement, the firm said, “In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted life as we know it, causing sickness, limiting social interactions, and leading to widespread job losses.”

Oregon, Alaska, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and West Virginia came last in the study.