The people of Utah have found the secret to happiness.
The Beehive State ranked as the happiest state on WalletHub's 2014 Most & Least Happy States In America (including District of Columbia). The study analyzed three key dimensions to determine each state's happiness including "emotional and physical well-being," "work" and "community, environment and recreational activities." West Virginia ranked as the least happy state.
Utah's lowest median weekly hours worked may have attributed to the state's No. 1 work ranking. It placed second in activities with the highest volunteer participation rate and second highest sports participation in the country. It also ranked third for emotional and physical well-being with the lowest divorce rate and fourth lowest percentage of obesity.
West Virginia's unhappy ranking could be attributed to its low marks on adequate sleep, high obesity rate and low participation in sports.
Minnesota, North Dakota, Colorado and Nebraska rounded out the top five of the happiest states. The next five least happiest states all come from the southern United States: Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee.
Hawaii, which ranked as the eighth happiest state, topped the "Best Hedonometer Score." The category is the prevalence of hedonistic expression measured by the personal expression of happiness online, according to the study.
WalletHub's research took into account four separate reports conducted over the last four years including a 2014 study on "Happy People Live Longer" and a 2010 study on "Sports Participation and Happiness."
