The happiest states in the US, ranked

New Jersey was ranked among the happiest states in America. andykazie/Getty Images Happiness may come from within, but external factors can still play a role in how happy you feel.Even if you're a glass-half-full kind of person, factors like financial security, access to healthcare, and community can also impact your well-being.A recent WalletHub study ranked all 50 states based on metrics that measure residents' happiness.All states were compared across three categories: emotional and physical well-being, work environment, and community and environment. These dimensions were broken down into 30 metrics, graded on a 100-point scale to create a happiness score.The most heavily weighted category was emotional and physical well-being, which included metrics such as career well-being, physical health, the share of adults with depression, and life expectancy.Work environment metrics included the number of work hours and the share of households earning annual incomes above $75,000.For community and environment, the metrics included ideal weather, average daily leisure time, and safety.WalletHub's analysis used data from sources such as the US Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Gallup.Here are the 50 states, ranked from least to most happy. 50. West Virginia Charleston, West Virginia. Leonid Andronov/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 50Work environment rank: 50Community and environment rank: 40 49. Louisiana Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Sabrina Gordon/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 49Work environment rank: 49Community and environment rank: 38 48. Arkansas Little Rock, Arkansas. ChrisBoswell/Getty Images/iStockphoto Emotional and physical well-being rank: 47Work environment rank: 47Community and environment rank: 30 47. Alaska Juneau, Alaska. Lana2011/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 38Work environment rank: 44Community and environment rank: 50 46. Kentucky Frankfort, Kentucky. Sean Pavone/Getty Images/iStockphoto Emotional and physical well-being rank: 48Work environment rank: 41Community and environment rank: 25 45. Alabama Montgomery, Alabama. stockphoto52/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 45Work environment rank: 35Community and environment rank: 36 44. New Mexico Santa Fe, New Mexico. alexeys/Getty Images/iStockphoto Emotional and physical well-being rank: 36Work environment rank: 48Community and environment rank: 37 43. Wyoming Cheyenne, Wyoming. Ceri Breeze/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 40Work environment rank: 42Community and environment rank: 35 42. Oregon Salem, Oregon. Sean Pavone/Getty Images/iStockphoto Emotional and physical well-being rank: 44Work environment rank: 38Community and environment rank: 29 41. Tennessee Nashville, Tennessee. Bilanol/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 41Work environment rank: 14Community and environment rank: 44 40. Oklahoma Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. RudyBalasko/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 46Work environment rank: 43Community and environment rank: 4 39. Ohio Columbus, Ohio. Sean Pavone/Getty Images/iStockphoto Emotional and physical well-being rank: 39Work environment rank: 32Community and environment rank: 26 38. Michigan Lansing, Michigan. Sean Pavone/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 32Work environment rank: 45Community and environment rank: 28 37. Mississippi Jackson, Mississippi. CRobertson/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 35Work environment rank: 46Community and environment rank: 12 36. Colorado Denver, Colorado. KathyKafka/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 28Work environment rank: 23Community and environment rank: 49 35. Texas Austin, Texas. BackyardProduction/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 24Work environment rank: 30Community and environment rank: 46 34. Maine Augusta, Maine. Sean Pavone/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 42Work environment rank: 10Community and environment rank: 20 33. Indiana Indianapolis, Indiana. Ultima_Gaina/Getty Images/iStockphoto Emotional and physical well-being rank: 34Work environment rank: 19Community and environment rank: 21 32. Nevada Carson City, Nevada. Wirestock/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 37Work environment rank: 39Community and environment rank: 5 31. Missouri Jefferson City, Missouri. Ultima_Gaina/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 33Work environment rank: 15Community and environment rank: 24 30. Montana Helena, Montana. stockphoto52/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 43Work environment rank: 7Community and environment rank: 10 29. Rhode Island Providence, Rhode Island. Sanghwan Kim/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 23Work environment rank: 26Community and environment rank: 45 28. Delaware Dover, Delaware. Amy Sparwasser/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 14Work environment rank: 28Community and environment rank: 47 27. Wisconsin Madison, Wisconsin. marchello74/Getty Images/iStockphoto Emotional and physical well-being rank: 30Work environment rank: 18Community and environment rank: 34 26. Illinois Springfield, Illinois. Sean Pavone/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 13Work environment rank: 40Community and environment rank: 42 25. Pennsylvania Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. TW Farlow/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 20Work environment rank: 37Community and environment rank: 27 24. South Dakota Pierre, South Dakota. Nathan McDaniel/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 29Work environment rank: 2Community and environment rank: 41 23. Kansas Topeka, Kansas. Ultima_Gaina/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 26Work environment rank: 12Community and environment rank: 31 22. Vermont Montpelier, Vermont. Ultima_Gaina/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 31Work environment rank: 9Community and environment rank: 7 21. Florida Tallahassee, Florida. Dennis MacDonald/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 9Work environment rank: 29Community and environment rank: 48 20. Iowa Des Moines, Iowa. Sean Pavone/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 27Work environment rank: 16Community and environment rank: 16 19. Washington Olympia, Washington. John Callery/Getty Images/iStockphoto Emotional and physical well-being rank: 18Work environment rank: 25Community and environment rank: 33 18. Georgia Atlanta, Georgia. Sean Davis/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 21Work environment rank: 22Community and environment rank: 22 17. Arizona Phoenix, Arizona. eric1513/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 16Work environment rank: 33Community and environment rank: 13 16. Virginia Richmond, Virginia. Sean Pavone/Getty Images/iStockphoto Emotional and physical well-being rank: 10Work environment rank: 31Community and environment rank: 32 15. South Carolina Columbia, South Carolina. Sean Pavone/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 25Work environment rank: 13Community and environment rank: 3 14. North Carolina Raleigh, North Carolina. zimmytws/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 15Work environment rank: 21Community and environment rank: 15 13. Massachusetts Boston, Massachusetts. Vadym Terelyuk/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 7Work environment rank: 17Community and environment rank: 43 12. North Dakota Bismarck, North Dakota. Jonathan W. Cohen/Getty Images/iStockphoto Emotional and physical well-being rank: 22Work environment rank: 4Community and environment rank: 6 11. New York Albany, New York. SerrNovik/Getty Images/iStockphoto Emotional and physical well-being rank: 3Work environment rank: 34Community and environment rank: 39 10. New Hampshire Concord, New Hampshire. Ultima_Gaina/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 12Work environment rank: 8Community and environment rank: 14 9. California Sacramento, California. MattGush/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 4Work environment rank: 36Community and environment rank: 19 8. Minnesota Saint Paul, Minnesota. RudyBalasko/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 8Work environment rank: 11Community and environment rank: 17 7. Connecticut Hartford, Connecticut. Vadym Terelyuk/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 5Work environment rank: 27Community and environment rank: 9 6. Nebraska Lincoln, Nebraska. Jacob Boomsma/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 11Work environment rank: 6Community and environment rank: 8 5. Maryland Annapolis, Maryland. Sean Pavone/Getty Images/iStockphoto Emotional and physical well-being rank: 6Work environment rank: 20Community and environment rank: 11 4. Idaho Boise, Idaho. christiannafzger/Getty Images/iStockphoto Emotional and physical well-being rank: 19Work environment rank: 3Community and environment rank: 2 3. Utah Salt Lake City, Utah. Vadym Terelyuk/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 17Work environment rank: 1Community and environment rank: 1 2. New Jersey Trenton, New Jersey. Ultima_Gaina/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 1Work environment rank: 24Community and environment rank: 23 1. Hawaii Honolulu, Hawaii. Iryna Olkhova/Getty Images Emotional and physical well-being rank: 2Work environment rank: 5Community and environment rank: 18With residents reporting the second-lowest rate of depression and high levels of life satisfaction, Hawaii was ranked the happiest state.This is owing to factors such as good physical health — about 84% of adults report being in good or better health — and low unemployment rates. Read next Roya is a reporter on Business Insider's Editorial Partnerships team. She is based in London. Before joining Business Insider, she worked as a reporter at financial newswire Alliance News and was an intern at The Wall Street Journal. Roya graduated from City St George's, University of London with an MA in International Journalism. Culture Mental Health Travel More