PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island ranked No. 33 in the nation, last in New England, in a happiness report released by WalletHub Monday.
The study – titled 2017’s Happiest States in America – considered three dimensions, emotional and physical well-being, work environment, and community and environment, comprised of a combined 28 metrics.
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Rhode Island ranked No. 35 in the nation for emotional and physical well-being, which ranked No. 5 in New England ahead only of Maine (No. 39 in the nation). Rhode Island ranked No. 49 in the nation in a “purpose” metric from collected from Gallup Inc.’s Well-Being Index, defined by Gallup as “liking what you do each day and being motivated to achieve your goals.”
Rhode Island ranked No. 27 in the nation for work environment, No. 5 in New England ahead of Connecticut, which ranked No. 40 in the nation. Rhode Island ranked No. 3 for fewest work hours in the country (37.2) behind Oregon and Utah, just ahead of Massachusetts.
The Ocean State ranked No. 26 for community and environment in the nation, No. 6 in New England. New Hampshire ranked No. 2 in the nation for community and environment, while Vermont ranked No. 4 in the country.
Overall rankings for New England states:
- New Hampshire – No.10:
- Emotional and physical well-being: No. 18
- Work environment: No. 22
- Community and environment: No. 2
- Vermont – No. 13:
- Emotional and physical well-being: No. 19
- Work environment: No. 20
- Community and environment: No. 4
- Connecticut – No. 18:
- Emotional and physical well-being: No. 15
- Work environment: No. 40
- Community and environment: No. 11
- Massachusetts – No. 19:
- Emotional and physical well-being: No. 20
- Work environment: No. 12
- Community and environment: No. 16
- Maine – No. 25:
- Emotional and physical well-being: No. 39
- Work environment: No. 11
- Community and environment: No. 6
- Rhode Island – No. 33:
- Emotional and physical well-being: No. 35
- Work environment: No. 27
- Community and environment: No. 26
Why do we always compare against other New England States? Why not compare with the leaders so that we know just who they are and just how far behind we are. Comparing to regional neighbors just highlights the nature of being in New England. After all, we compete with all 50 states not just New England.