Shale gas buys you happiness

By E.B. | WASHINGTON, DC

"I'M depressed," complained Tony Soprano. That a macho, murdering mob boss could have pangs of existential angst was fascinating enough to sustain a television show. It also makes Tony a bit of an outlier in his home state of New Jersey, which has the lowest levels of depression in the country, according to the latest Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, released on February 20th by Gallup, a polling company, and Healthways, a healthcare company. But while New Jersey may have fewer people checking out Sartre's "Nausea" from the library, the state ranks seventh in the country when it comes to how often residents feel angry—perhaps because of all the time spent sitting in traffic.

Based on interviews with more than 178,000 people from all 50 states, the Well-Being Index offers an interesting glimpse of the physical and mental health of the nation. It also spotlights the country's winners and losers. The results divide regionally, with Midwestern and Western states earning nine of the ten best scores in 2013, while Southern states have eight of the ten lowest. Massachusetts has the highest rate of residents with health insurance (which may bode well for Obamacare). Colorado, meanwhile, nearly always has the lowest obesity rate.

Sitting pretty in first place now is North Dakota, which has displaced Hawaii as the state where people are most likely to be healthy and feel good about their life and work. North Dakota’s speedy climb to first place from 19 last year seems to have a lot to do with the shale-gas boom, which has buoyed the state with lots of new jobs and money. This bonanza has apparently trickled into South Dakota, which has elbowed aside Colorado to secure second place.

Bringing up the rear in this ranking, once again, is West Virginia. This is the fifth consecutive year the state has earned the lowest score, with Kentucky trailing not far behind. Both states consistently suffer from high levels of obesity (and related illnesses, such as diabetes and heart disease), smoking and depression, and low levels of employment and rates of high-school graduation. “The most consistently predictable aspect of the index is that West Virginia will be ranked last,” says Dan Witters, the research director of the Well-Being Index.

The economy plays a big part in these rankings. People lead healthier lives in places where new jobs are being created, and they are more likely to praise their work environments if their managers don’t have too many alternate candidates for the job. Few will be shocked to learn that well-being generally goes up with income, but by some measurements this peaks at around $75,000 a year, says Mr Witters, at which point most people can pay for their essentials and have access to decent health care. Those who make more often enjoy their jobs and feel pretty good about where they are in their lives, but also suffer from greater feelings of stress.

The concept of “well-being” seems a bit soft. But the ranking is designed to measure not only how people feel about their lives, but also how likely they are to graduate from high school, become pregnant as teenagers and engage in violent crimes. Essentially, happier people are more productive and less costly to the state. And the Index, by revealing where the states stand, aims to highlight areas in need of improvement. But for those states that aren't experiencing a sudden glut of shale gas, the Index unfortunately offers few tips for creating new jobs.

(credit: Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index)