[imgcontainer] [img:wellbeing.jpg] [source]Gallup[/source] This map shows how the 435 Congressional Districts rank according to individual well-being. [/imgcontainer]
Here’s something to look at besides watch basketball. It’s a map compiled by the Gallup organization showing how Congressional districts rank in order of well-being. Gallup uses 40 questions to determine people’s physical and mental well-being. (See the key at the top of the map; green is happiest, while tan is the least happy.) To learn more about the Gallup project or to see more detail with the map, go here.
It turns out that West Virginia is the unhappiest state in the union, followed by Kentucky. The unhappiest congressional district is in far Eastern Kentucky. Writer Erik Reece notes that “you’ll find that the least happy places are Eastern Kentucky, Southwestern West Virginia, Eastern Tennessee and Western Virginia. In other words, the coal fields of Appalachia.” Reece points out that areas that have been been strip mined are not happy places.
The Mountain West is the happiest region, it appears. The happiest Congressional district is just outside San Francisco and contains Silicon Valley. The Great Plains are pretty happy, too. For what it’s worth….
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