Some popular retirement destinations didn’t make the cut, although Florida does rank in the top one-third. According to a recent Gallup report, Hawaii, Montana, South Dakota, Alaska and Iowa are the five states that ranked highest for total well-being in adults aged 55 or over.
The poll ranked each state on five elements of well-being: community, physical, purpose, financial and social — many of the same factors measured by the Blue Zones® study, which analyzes lifestyles in communities where people live significantly longer.
Not surprisingly, higher well-being aligns with a lower incidence of heart attack and other chronic diseases. Two of the states that made the top five for total well-being, Hawaii and Alaska, were also in the top five for fewest heart attacks. West Virginia, which ranked #50 for well-being, had the nation’s highest incidence of heart attack at 7.7%.
If you don’t happen to live in Hawaii or Alaska, there’s still good news. According to Gallup, well-being increases significantly as we age, in all fifty states.