Website: South Carolina is One of America’s Unhappiest States

The factors analyzed within the index included; suicide rates, average hourly wage, the severity of depression and anxiety, unemployment rates, number of primary care and mental health providers, adverse childhood experiences, neighborhood amenities, and percentage of sleep-deprived residents.

The 10 unhappiest US states:

Mississippi ranked as the unhappiest state in the US with a score of 58.6 out of 100. The state was found to have the highest severity score for both anxiety and depression in the country at 1.96 and 1.74 respectively. Anxiety and depression scores, which were gathered through the Household Pulse Survey and Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, represent the frequency with which the average resident experiences either anxiety or depressive symptoms on a scale of 0-3, where 0 is not at all and 3 is every day.

The Magnolia state also had the lowest average hourly wage at $16.86 as well as the lowest percentage of people under 18 with access to neighborhood amenities at just 12.9%. America’s Health Rankings define this as the percentage of people under 18 who have access to a park or playground, recreation and community center, libraries and walking paths

The second unhappiest state in America was West Virginia with a score of 59.9 out of 100. The state had the tenth worst suicide rate, with 19.4 deaths per 100,000 residents each year. It also had the third-fewest mental health providers in the country with 165 per 100,000 residents, and sixth highest percentage of people with adverse childhood experiences, at 18.9%.

Alabama was the third unhappiest state in the US, with a score of 61.1 out of 100. It had the lowest number of mental health providers of any state, at 128.8 per 100,000 residents, and the fifth lowest percentage of children with access to neighborhood amenities at 18.6%. Additionally, Alabama has the joint fourth-lowest average hourly wage of any state, at $17.91.

Down the list in seventh place was South Carolina with a Happiness Index Score of 62.2 out of 100. The state has the sixth-lowest percentage of children with access to neighborhood amenities at 20.4%. South Carolina ranked in the bottom 11 states for the number of mental health providers, with 210 per 100,000 residents.