(July 23) -- Surprise, surprise. Residents of the Aloha State have held onto their top spot ranking on Gallup's annual wellness survey -- and set a record for the highest score tabulated since the survey was launched in 2007.
Hawaii took No. 1 for the first half of 2010, with a total wellness score of 72.3. But there's good news for every state: overall, scores are on the rise.
The country as a whole averaged out to a score of 67.0, up from 65.9 in 2008 and 2009.
The statistics are compiled with nationally representative interviews. For the 2010 surveys, Gallup pollsters interviewed 176,000 American adults in all 50 states.
Questions assess six areas, including participants' perception of their emotional health, physical health and work environment.
Scraping the bottom of the wellness barrel? The West and Midwest, home to nine of the 12 states with the lowest ratings.
Special pat on the back to West Virginia, the worst-ranked state for the third year running. West Virginians gave themselves the lowest nationwide scores for life evaluation, and emotional and physical health.
But no matter your state's score, there's hope for everyone. Gallup found that, as a whole, rising scores across the board were due to "Americans' improved ratings of their current and future lives."
Aloha! Hawaii Tops State-by-State Wellness Poll
Jul 23, 2010 – 2:08 PM
