Hawaii Was Just Named The Healthiest State In The Country. Here’s Why.
By Meg Archer|Published February 16, 2017
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Meg Archer
Author
Meg Archer is an Editor & Newsletter Editor who has called Oregon home for nearly 30 years. She spent her childhood exploring the mountains, forests, and high desert of Central Oregon before relocating to Portland after a brief stint out-of-state for college. She holds an B.A. in English from Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo and a B.S. in Psychology from Portland State University. Meg has worked in writing, editing, and media-related fields for over 10 years and joined the team at OnlyInYourState in 2015. When she’s not writing or exploring the West Coast, Meg enjoys playing tabletop games, working on visual media projects, and can always be found in the front row at Portland Timbers matches.
There are plenty of studies out there trying to determine which state is the healthiest. Some look at physical health and longevity, but we think this focus only shows off a small piece of what makes a place “healthy” – there are tons of other factors involved! That’s why we were so happy to see the latest release of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index!
This study goes way beyond the typical “healthiest” lists and includes several other elements that truly do make for a healthier, happier community. Aside from physical health, the Well-Being Index also includes categories like “Purpose,” “Social,” Financial,” and “Community.”
In fact, Hawaii has a pretty good track record on the Well-Being Index; we have consistently scored highly on this for several years, and show no signs of losing our place on top anytime soon.
The study ranks each state across all five dimensions and scores them according to where they fall on a quintile scale. While we weren’t perfect across the board, our scores were high enough to secure our #1 spot with ease - a full 1.2 points over Alaska, ranked #2.
The data is based off more than 177,000 interviews (that’s about 500 per day!) performed with people living across the country in which participants are asked questions to rate their personal, individual experiences living in each state. Here’s a closer look at how Hawaii performed across all five dimensions…
The "Physical" element is pretty straightforward; enjoying good health and the ability and energy to be productive. This was one of three categories where we took the top spot, ranking #1 out of all 50 states!
We took the top spot in the "Community" category as well. "Community" refers to liking where you live, feeling safe where you live, and how much pride you feel for your community. It’s hard not to LOVE living here, so it’s easy to see why we ranked #1 in this category too!
Hawaii also ranked #1 in terms of "Financial" Well-Being. This part refers to the sense of being able to manage your economic life in a way that reduces stress and increases security.
Hawaii didn’t score #1 across the board; we actually ranked #12 when it comes to the "Purpose" category, which reflects a sense of motivation and achievement brought about by enjoying what you do each day. We sat just below the cusp of the upper quintile, so we still scored pretty highly on this one too!
Here’s the weird one: Hawaii actually ranked in the LOWEST quintile (at #46) when it came to "Social" Well-Being. This one certainly confused us a little! This category reflects the sense of having supportive relationships and loving life… which we think Hawaiians are pretty good at! Maybe we just need to give a little extra love this year to truly show the friendly aloha spirit!
Despite our less-than-awesome score on Social Well-Being, the scoring system also takes into account past years’ data and rankings to give an idea for how healthy we are over time. Hawaii was also ranked #1 overall in 2015, and our "Social" score was MUCH higher (#16), as was our "Purpose" score (#5).
We all know that Hawaii is amazing, and we can’t imagine a happier, healthier life anywhere else, but it’s nice to see that the rest of the country also recognizes how wonderful we are and how much pride we have in our stunning state! Hawaii is unlike anywhere else in the world. From its incredible natural beauty to the equally incredible people that make our home what it is: the best!
If you are interested in seeing a more detailed breakdown of the 2016 State of American Well-Being report, check it out here, or go to the Gallup-Healthways website. Here’s a more detailed state-specific analysis of the 2015 Report for Hawaii.
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