Florida Ranks 28th On List Of Happiest States, But Why?

Florida ranks 28th on a list of the happiest states and part of the reason for its just below average status...

"A Very high separation and divorce rate in Florida. About 28 percent of all adults have either been one or the other."

Wallethub analyst Jill Gonzalez says our state's divorce rate is the third worst in the nation. She says the happiness ranks are based on a lot of different factors.

"Not only emotional and physical well-being, which I think most people think of when they think of happiness, but also how is the work environment, what's the overall sense of community where you live, do you feel safe?"

Financial metrics are also figured in.

"Income growth is pretty middle of the board so average, which doesn't necessarily mean stagnant and Florida also has one of the highest long-term unemployment rates in the country...fourth highest overall."

Gonzalez says our state also ranks 40th in the number of underemployed residents.

"So a lot of people may be employed in Florida but still not making it, maybe having to get a second job, etc."

Another stat dragging Florida down is WalletHub's ranking of our state as the third least safe in the nation. This isn't necessarily about crime rates.

"We take into account mass shootings, so that's one factor here. Another one is natural disasters. Look at the last couple of weeks that Florida had being under a hurricane watch. And property crime is a huge issue in Florida because of so many elderly folks live there."

And one more lowlight....Florida ranks dead last when it comes to volunteering.

Click Here for the full rankings, which have Hawaii as the Happiest State and West Virginia as the least happy in the nation.


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