Illinois Beats Wisconsin in New Happiest States Ranking

Illinois may not be the happiest state in America, but a new WalletHub study revealed we’re doing a whole lot better than most people think.

William Howell

Illinois Troubles

As a lifelong Illinois resident, I try really hard not to complain about the state I live in, but let's face it, at times it's really hard not to.

Illinois taxes, traffic, construction, and politicians always get on my nerves, and it often feels like I'm surrounded by other people whose one joy in life is to talk smack about everything in this state.

READ MORE: State Farm Dividend Scam Warning for IL Residents

Surprisingly though, Illinoisans are happier than most people think.

Happiest States in America

A recent WalletHub study ranked the happiest states in America based on three major categories:

• Emotional and physical well-being.
• Work environment
• Community and environment

Some of the factors that fell into those three categories included things like mental and physical health, life expectancy, income, unemployment, commute times, and even things like sports participation and sleep.

Basically, the rankings weren't simply based on asking people, "Hey, are you happy?", because that would not end well for the state of Illinois.

Now for the good news: Illinois landed at No. 26 out of all 50 states, AND we beat Wisconsin, which came in at No. 27!

Where things get interesting is when you look at the individual categories.

Illinois vs. Wisconsin

According to WalletHub's study, Illinois actually does much better than Wisconsin when it comes to emotional and physical well-being. Illinois ranks No. 13 out of 50 in that category, while Wisconsin comes in at No. 30.

However, Wisconsin absolutely beats us in the workplace category. Wisconsin ranks No. 18 for its work environment, while Illinois ranks No. 40.

Wisconsin also gets the edge when it comes to community and environment. Wisconsin ranks No. 34, compared with Illinois at No. 42. (Yikes!)

FYI, Hawaii was named the happiest state in America, and West Virginia ranked No. 50.

I think studies like these can be a good reminder that happiness is about more than tax rates and traffic. It's important to remember that where you live, work, sleep, exercise, spend time with your family and interact with your community plays a big role as well.

Maybe we Illinoisans are actually happier than we give ourselves credit for.

Or maybe we're just really good at complaining while secretly enjoying ourselves. We should probably stop that.