Life

Turns Out Living In Alaska Might Be Good For You

by Emma Cueto

Feb. 21, 2015

If you were asked to guess what the best place for your well-being in the United States, you might think about Hawaii or the Florida Keys. You probably wouldn't think of Alaska, but according to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, Alaska is the best state for residents' well-being. Which is surprising, given that Alaska's average high temperature in July is only 65 degrees. And the fact that they get less than 50 hours of sunlight throughout the entire month of December.

Unsurprisingly, given all of that, this is the first time that Alaska has been number one on the index, though it is its fourth appearance since 2008. But even though it might seem counter-intuitive, the rankings are based not on tallying up factors people think should indicate well-being, but rather by surveying the people who actually live there.

Gallup interviewed more than 176,000 people during the survey, having them answer questions regarding what they identify as the five major components of well-being: a sense of purpose, supportive social relationships, financial stability, positive feelings towards your community, and good physical health. And it turns out that the place that's best in those categories is none other than Seward's Folly itself, the great untamed North, the 49th state added to our union, Alaska. Go figure.

So does this mean winter isn't as bad for us as we think? If so, someone better go let Elsa off the hook.

So how did the rest of the 50 states compare? Well, here are the four best and the four worst states when it comes to their resident's well-being.