Why Aren’t Minnesotans As Happy As We Used To Be? New Survey Shows Why
An annual survey that ranks the happiest states in the country has shown Minnesota sliding down the list of happiest states this year.
In the last few years, Minnesota has been slowly descending from near the very top of the list of happiest states according to data collected by the team at WalletHub.
The statistics WalletHub uses include dozens of things like emotional and physical well-being, job factors like commute time and economic security, and community and environmental factors like feelings of safety and community involvement.
In 2021, for example, Minnesota was the second-happiest state in the country. In 2022, Minnesota fell one spot, and the same thing happened in 2023. Last year, the North Star State slid two more spots downward on the list.
Minnesota rankings in list of happiest states around the country
For 2025, Minnesota fell way further down the list - out of the top 10 altogether.
Data from WalletHub for 2025 shows Minnesota falling all the way to the 11th-happiest state, a drop of 5 spots from last year to this year.
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Places like Hawaii, California, and Utah have been perennial top-10 states on this list in recent years, moving around slightly from year to year. Minnesota, on the other hand, has been on a slow but steady slide.
Why is Minnesota less happy than it used to be?
Comparing WalletHub's overall category scores from last year to this year, there are two significant changes that led to the fall from the top 10.
What changed?
In the Emotional & Physical Well-being rankings, Minnesotans remained pretty consistent, moving up a spot from 12th best in 2024 to 11th best this year. The big differences are in the other two overall areas.
In the Work Environment category, Minnesotans are significantly less happy. The 2024 rank was the 4th happiest in this area, while it is now the 12th happiest in 2025. That's substantial, but there's a bigger fall in the next category.
The Community & Environment category also saw a slide, falling from 8th best state in 2024 to 19th best in 2025.
That Community & Environment category that Minnesota fell most in includes specific datapoints like volunteer rate, ideal weather, average leisure time spent per day, separation & divorce rate, and safety.
Some combination of factors in those last two categories are what has Minnesotans feeling more down than they used to.
I think the big thing to remember with this is that rankings like this are also relative. While Minnesota might have fallen, it might also partially be because some other states are feeling happier than they used to be on different topics.
So, it might not all just be because we're feeling more down about ourselves here in Minnesota. At least, that's what I am going to tell myself.
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Gallery Credit: Nick Cooper
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