New Jersey Ranks Near the top of the “Happiest States” List
View of four differently styled and sized Smiley face buttons
If you’re like me and you had no idea that Utah was the Beehive State, now we’re both better educated on state nicknames. If you want to be happy, a new survey says take a trip to the Beehive State.
Why can traveling there make you happy? Utah has topped the list of the Happiest States in the United States for 2023, according to a survey from the folks at WalletHub.
The site’s financial experts crunched the numbers on “Emotional and Physical Well-Being,” “Work Environment,” and “Community and Environment.” They looked at each state and analyzed several factors including depression rates, unemployment statistics, the rate of divorce, and which states get the most sleep. After all the math was completed, Utah ranked as number one for this year. One factor that helped them reach the top spot is that they have the fewest work hours.
But, what about New Jersey? Overall, New Jersey ranked an impressive 5th out of all 50 states. Even better, we came in third in the “Emotional and Physical Well-Being” category. We also scored 14th in “Work Environment” and 29th in “Community and Environment.” The latter is what kept us from scoring closer to the top of the list. One more positive finding is that New Jersey has the lowest suicide rate followed by New York.
New York landed 16th on the list overall. They scored admirably in “Emotional and Physical Well-Being” with a seven but got 39s in the other two categories.
Pennsylvania was in the top half of the list but barely. PA notched a 25 on the list of 50. Their best score was a 17 for “Emotional and Physical Well-Being.”
Last year’s #1, Hawaii, slipped to second place, with Maryland and Minnesota coming in third and fourth, respectively.
At the bottom of the list are Tennessee, Louisiana, and West Virginia respectively. West Virginia had the highest rate of adult depression.
10 Most Beautiful Areas in America for Fall Colors
The fall season is a glorious time in America. From coast to coast, many different areas off beautiful fall colors in radiant reds, oranges and yellows. So, what are the most beautiful spots in America for fall colors?
Peak fall foliage season is different based on where you are located. Some areas of the U.S. see fall colors as early as September, while others peak later on, such as in October or even November. Generally speaking, areas with longer winters will have earlies fall colors, and areas with longer summers will have later fall colors. Most of America hits peak fall foliage season in the month of October. Of course, areas bordering Canada will be the first to see those colors.
If you’re wondering the science behind the fall colors, the color that the leaves become depends on a few factors. Those include the chlorophyll and weather conditions during the summer or fall. Chlorophyll is a pigment that aids in giving leaves their color. In general, big changes from the norm in precipitation, whether it’s getting way too much rain or not enough, can really impact the fall foliage season.
Also, I remember last year, the radiant colors in my area fell off the trees early. The reason was that we had a wind storm come through, so the leaves fell prematurely. I was pretty upset about it, because not only do I like to see beautiful fall colors, I also like to paint fall colors. So, my muse was gone.
That said, if you are in the mood to view fall colors this year, here are some great places to do it. Read on for 10 Beautiful spots in America for fall colors. What are your favorite areas to see fall foliage? Reach out to me on social media here and let me know.
Joel Katz is the Morning Show Personality, Assistant Program Director, Podcast Host, Voiceover artist, audio producer, and Digital Content Writer for Magic 98.3. Joel has been working in New Jersey radio since college and started at Magic in 2002 as the Morning Show Host, “I can’t think of another place where I’d fit more perfectly; it’s just a great company with awesome people.” Joel is married to Kathleen, his elementary school sweetheart (they were each other’s first dates at age 9), shares a birthday with his oldest son, Ty, and has twins, Kiera and Liam. Joel runs at least 3.1 miles every day and enjoys playing basketball, doing laundry, saving his turn signal for when he really needs it, kissing dogs through a fence, using coasters, making that cool noise by rubbing his fingers on balloons, and chasing after ping pong balls on a windy cruise ship.
