Louisiana Is In The Top 10 Of The Most Miserable States To Live In

Gallup just had their survey of the happiest and most miserable states to live in. There is some hope for Louisiana, we are not the most miserable state to live, but according to Gallup's study, we are in the top 10.

Louisiana came in at number 41 on the 'most miserable' state to live in list. The most miserable state to live in, according to this study, is West Virginia. That doesn't surprise me because there are an area in West Virginia where you cannot use cell phones, WI-fi or even your microwave oven.

The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, is a study based on interviews with more than 176,000 people from all 50 states last year. It measures the physical and emotional health of Americans across the country.

As to why Louisiana made the Top 10 of the most miserable states to live in, the Gallup report states:

Louisiana residents suffered from limited access to basic needs. Last year, nearly 9% of those surveyed in the state noted they did not have easy access to clean and safe drinking water, while nearly 12% of residents lacked easy access to medicine, both among the worst rates in the nation. Just 61.4% of respondents felt safe walking home alone at night, the lowest rate in the U.S., and significantly lower than the national rate of more than 70% who felt safe in the same circumstances. Louisiana also ranked among the lowest in healthy behaviors because of its residents’ high smoking rate and limited healthy eating. As of 2010, there were 229.4 deaths due to heart disease per 100,000 people in the state, fourth-highest nationally. That same year, life expectancy at birth in the state was just 75.7 years, one of the worst figures in the nation.