New Jersey is One of the Happiest States in America

A new study says that New Jersey is one of the happiest states in America. In fact, according to wallethub.com, Hawaii, Utah, and Minnesota are the only states that are happier than New Jersey.

Not bad considering we're 6 months into a pandemic that has caused tremendous hardships on many of the state's residents.

WalletHub based its findings on 32 indicators, including things like depression rate and the rate of unemployment.

Here are some of the factors where New Jersey placed at or near the top of WalletHub's rankings:

• New Jersey had the lowest percentage of depressed adults when compared to the rest of the U.S.
• New Jersey also had the lowest suicide rate in the nation.
• We've been hearing a lot about how stress related to the coronavirus is causing marital issues, but that doesn't seem to be the case in NJ, because according to WalletHub, the Garden State has the 3rd lowest separation and divorce rates.
• And even though New Jersey was among the first states in the country affected by COVID-19, WalletHub says NJ now has the 6th lowest rate of positive tests over the last 4 weeks.

The Highest Long-Term Unemployment Rate was the only factor where WalletHub ranked New Jersey in the bottom 5. (NJ ranked #49 in that category with only New Mexico placing lower.)

Here's where New Jersey's neighboring states ranked on WalletHub's Happiest States list: New York (#17), Delaware (#24), and Pennsylvania (#28).

WalletHub says that the 5 least happy states are Kentucky, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas and West Virginia.

To find out more about WalletHub's methodology and to check out more results, click here.