It is always nice when North Dakota is noted as being number one for something positive.  We have been on some top ten lists that we are not proud of – such as underage drinking, binge drinking, more bars per capita, highest apartment rental costs, largest condoms, etc.  I cringe when we claw our way to the top of those lists.

But now North Dakota is on the top of the Gallup poll well-being list.  With a score of 70.4 out of 100, North Dakota bounced Hawaii out of its longstanding number one position.  Go ahead, pick your jaw up off the floor – North Dakota trumped Hawaii.  Someone call Hawaii Five-0 and alert them.

According to Gallup, “State rankings come from surveys of more than 176,000 Americans, including some from every state; the organization has released results annually since 2008. Survey participants answer questions about six measures of well-being: life evaluation (how people feel they’re doing currently, and how they expect to do in five years); emotional health (how many positive and negative emotions they experienced in the past day); work environment (how happy they are at work and with their relationship with their bosses); physical health (including obesity and illnesses); healthy behaviors (how well people eat and how often they exercise); and basic access to food, shelter, clean water and medical care.”