Happiness Index: NJ #30

The Happiest:

1. Nebraska
2. Iowa
3. Kansas
4. Oklahoma
5. Montana


The Most Miserable:


46. Idaho
47. Oregon
48. Arizona
49. California
50. Florida

Mainstreet.com Happiness Index: October 2009

How Happy Is Your State?

The newest installment of the Happiness Index has arrived and residents of the Midwest will be happy to learn that their strangle-hold on the top spots remains intact. There have been some big moves however. Vermont made a big leap, and New Jersey and Lousiana took serious tumbles. There’s also been some movement at the bottom and residents of the Sunshine State may be unhappy to learn that, well, they’re the least happy state in the nation, when it comes to money matters.

Here’s how the index works:

The Happiness Index, which analyzes household income, non-mortgage debt, employment and foreclosures, is a fresh take on the old and tired Misery Index, made popular in the 1970s. The Misery Index takes into account unemployment and inflation rates and seeks to identify the most financially miserable places to live.