Louisiana is tops if you are seeking state of happiness

WASHINGTON — People in sunny, outdoorsy states — Louisiana, Hawaii, Florida — say they're the happiest Americans, and researchers think they know why.

A new study comparing self-described pleasant feelings with objective measures of good living found these folks generally have reason to feel fine.

The places where people are most likely to report happiness also tend to rate high on studies comparing things such as climate, crime rates, air quality and schools.

The happiness ratings were based on a survey of 1.3 million people across the country by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It used data collected over four years that included a question asking people how satisfied they are with their lives.

Economists Andrew Oswald of the University of Warwick in England and Stephen Wu of Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y., compared the happiness ranking with studies that rated states on a variety of criteria ranging from availability of public land to commuting time to local taxes.

Their report in today's edition of the journal Science found the happiest people tend to live in the states that do well in quality-of-life studies.

The analysis showed that Louisiana was the happiest state, followed by Hawaii and Florida. Washington ranked a distant 36, California a wretched 46, and New York came in as the most miserable, er, least happy state.

Oswald said "this is the first objective validation of 'happiness' data," which is something he says economists have been reluctant to use in the past.

"Very loosely, you could say that we prove that happiness data are 'true,' such data have genuine objective informational content," he said.

"Moreover," he added, "it is interesting to uncover the pattern of life-satisfaction across one of the world's important nations."

Oswald urged a bit of caution in Louisiana's No. 1 ranking, however, noting that part of the happiness survey occurred before Hurricane Katrina struck, and part took place later. Nevertheless, he said, "We have no explicit reason to think there is a problem" with the ranking.

As for New York's poor ranking, Oswald suggested the long commutes, congestion and high prices around New York City account for some of the unhappiness.

He said he has been asked if the researchers expected that states like New York and California would do so poorly in the happiness ranking.

"I am only a little surprised," he said. "Many people think these states would be marvelous places to live in. The problem is that if too many individuals think that way, they move into those states, and the resulting congestion and house prices make it a nonfulfilling prophecy."

Oswald and Wu used data from CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System collected from 2005 to 2008. The survey, launched in 1984, collects information on a variety of health measures.

The research was supported by Britain's Economic and Social Research Council.

Material from the Los Angeles Times is included in this report.