Move over, Hawaii. North Dakota is now the happiest state in the union. 
 
 For the first time in five years, Hawaii does not rank highest in Gallup's annual well-being poll. Instead, North Dakota takes the top spot, with a well-being score of 70.4 out of 100, according to a new report released today (Feb. 20) by the polling agency. 
 
 A state known for icy winters and oil drilling may seem like an odd candidate for the happiest place to live, especially compared to tropical Hawaii, but the upset came as no surprise to Dan Witters, research director of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. 
 
 "Historically, it's had a lot of top-10 rankings," Witters told Live Science, referring to North Dakota. "It's never been No. 1, but it's been way up there." [See List of Happiest and Saddest US States of 2013] 
 
 Aloha, Hawaii 
 
 Gallup's 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. 
 
 Hawaii has often led the pack, but in 2013, the state saw big drops in workplace satisfaction, Witters said. Specifically, Hawaiians were less likely than in previous years to say their boss treated them like a partner or created a trusting working environment. People's evaluation of their futures became less optimistic, and they felt more daily stress, anger and worry than in previous years. 
 
 Nevertheless, residents of the Aloha State need not despair. The state still ranks in the top 10 (at No. 8) and is well above average in providing residents with the basics, including health insurance. Ninety-two percent of Hawaiians have health coverage, Witters said, second only to Massachusetts' 95 percent. [7 Things That Will Make You Happy] 
 
 "It's not all bad news for Hawaii," Witters said. "In a lot of really important ways, they actually have demonstrated improvement." 
 
 North Dakota rises 
 
 North Dakota is strong across all six categories and is No. 1 for both work environment and physical health, Witters said. The Bakken oil boom, which has led to an influx of residents to the Peace Garden State, may have contributed to these ratings, he said, though the Gallup data isn't designed to analyze the causes of changes in well-being. Low unemployment caused by the boom could contribute to well-being in the form of financial security or access to health insurance, Witters said. 
 
 Well-being in the United States is also regional, with Plains states and the Mountain West strongly represented in the top 10, Witters said. South Dakota trailed North Dakota by only 0.4 points in the 2013 rankings, followed by Nebraska. Minnesota, Montana, Vermont, Colorado, Hawaii, Washington and Iowa rounded out the top 10. 
 
 At the bottom of the pack were the "usual suspects," Witter said. West Virginia came in dead last, as it has for five years running. Other bottom-10 states were also mostly in the South or industrial Midwest: Kentucky, Mississippi, Alabama, Ohio, Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Oklahoma and Louisiana. 
 
 Trending states 
 
 The rankings show that being "easy on the eyes" isn't the only thing that matters for happiness, Witters said. California, for example, is a much-loved tourist destination but ranks pretty consistently at the lower end of the top third. (This year, it's number 17.) Nebraska, on the other hand, is on few must-see lists but constantly ranks among the top 10 states for well-being. 
 
 Since 2010, the first full year after the Great Recession's end, 11 states have improved in well-being every year: Nevada, Montana, Vermont, Nebraska, Iowa, Maine, Arizona, Wisconsin, Mississippi, Texas and California. Of those, Montana, Vermont, Nebraska and Iowa are especially noteworthy for being top-10 states still making gains, Witters said. 
 
 Several factors distinguished high-well-being states from their struggling counterparts, Witters said. People in happy states are healthier, smoke less and report learning new things every day. They have safe places to exercise and feel they are partners to, not underlings of, their bosses. They also take better care of their teeth. Access to dentistry, Witters said, is a strong predictor of health and well-being. 
 
 Follow Stephanie Pappas on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science. ||||| Well-being has steadily increased in 11 states since 2010 
 
 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- North Dakota residents had the highest well-being in the nation in 2013, according to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. South Dakota trailed its northern neighbor in second place, with its highest score in six years of measurement. Hawaii held the top spot for the previous four years, but fell slightly last year. West Virginia and Kentucky had the two lowest well-being scores, for the fifth year in a row. 
 
 
 
 
 
 North Dakota rejoined the top 10 well-being states in 2013 after being among that group from 2009 to 2011. South Dakota was among the top 10 in well-being for the first time since 2010, while Washington last appeared in 2008. 
 
 
 
 These state-level data are based on more than 178,000 interviews with American adults across all 50 states, conducted from January-December 2013. Gallup and Healthways started tracking state-level well-being in 2008. The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index score for the nation and for each state is an average of six sub-indexes, which individually examine life evaluation, emotional health, work environment, physical health, healthy behaviors, and access to basic necessities. 
 
 The Well-Being Index is calculated on a scale of 0 to 100, where a score of 100 represents ideal well-being. Well-Being Index scores among states varied within a nine-point range in 2013. The Well-Being Index score for the nation in 2013 dipped to 66.2 from 66.7 in 2012, and matches the previous low, measured in 2011. 
 
 Based on U.S. Census Bureau regions, Midwestern and Western states earned nine of the 10 highest well-being scores in 2013, while Southern states had eight of the 10 lowest well-being scores. The regional pattern of well-being is similar to previous years. 
 
 West Virginia at the Bottom on Five Out of Six Key Areas of Well-Being 
 
 In addition to North Dakota's having the highest overall Well-Being Index score, it was the top state on two of the six well-being sub-indexes: Work Environment and Physical Health. At the opposite end of the spectrum was West Virginia, which ranked last on all sub-indexes except Work Environment. 
 
 
 
 Nebraska topped all other states on the Life Evaluation Index, with a score that was 17 points higher than West Virginia's. Alaska boasted the highest Emotional Health Index score, while Vermont led all states in Healthy Behaviors for the second straight year. Massachusetts had the best score on the Basic Access Index for the fourth straight year, which is partially a result of having the highest percentage of residents with health insurance in the nation. 
 
 Eleven States' Well-Being Index Scores Have Improved Steadily Since 2010 
 
 Well-being has been fairly stable nationally since 2008. However, since 2010, the first full year after the Great Recession officially ended, 11 states' well-being scores have shown year-over-year improvement, with the largest gains seen in Nevada, Montana, Vermont, Nebraska, Iowa, and Maine. Four of these states -- Montana, Vermont, Nebraska, and Iowa -- also were among the top 10 well-being states in 2012 and 2013, making their continued improvement notable given their already high Well-Being Index scores. 
 
 Implications 
 
 Overall well-being in the U.S. and within states has been fairly steady since 2008, although the national Well-Being Index score fell in 2013. The nation's well-being declined despite improvement in economic confidence in most states. Still, steady growth in 11 states' well-being scores since 2010 illustrates that sustained improvements in well-being are possible regardless of national trends. Four states in particular -- Montana, Vermont, Nebraska, and Iowa -- demonstrate that steady progress is possible, even among the top 10 well-being states. 
 
 Gallup's research has shown that people take a variety of factors into account when evaluating their well-being. Job creation, for example, is related to well-being; Gallup's job creation rankings for 2013 are correlated with the well-being rankings. The 2013 Payroll to Population (P2P) state rankings are also correlated with top and bottom well-being states. North Dakota, which has benefited economically from the surge in its oil industry, was the top state in both job creation and P2P in 2013. And other behavioral factors, such as smoking rates, generally line up with well-being at the state level as well. 
 
 Regardless of metrics such as employment and job creation, all states rely on strong leadership to spearhead their well-being efforts. Iowa's Healthiest State Initiative, for example, is a privately led, government-supported program designed to improve Iowa's well-being, and has received Gov. Terry Branstad's support since its inception. This sort of steady advocacy for higher well-being can serve as a positive example for other leaders to follow as states try to improve their residents' well-being in 2014. 
 
 Gallup's "State of the States" series reveals state-by-state differences on political, economic, and well-being measures Gallup tracks each day. New stories based on full-year 2013 data will be released in the coming months. 
 
 To view the full report on well-being in the U.S., visit this page. 
 

– What's better than sandy beaches, sunshine, and luaus? Bitter winters and oil drilling, apparently. North Dakota is now the happiest state in the US, LiveScience reports, having taken the crown that Hawaii has worn for the past four years. The 50th state crashed to eighth place, per Gallup's 2013 "Well-Being Index," which considered factors like work environments, health, and access to food, water, and medical care. North Dakota has made it into the Top 10 a number of times—even ranking No. 2 in 2012—but never nailed down the top spot until now, the index's research director says. Here's a look at how other states fared according to their Well-Being Index score, which follows a scale of 0 to 100: North Dakota: 70.4 South Dakota: 70 Nebraska: 69.7 (tie) Minnesota: 69.7 (tie) Montana: 69.3 At the bottom: West Virginia: 61.4 (on the bottom for the 5th year running) Kentucky: 63 Mississippi: 63.7 Alabama: 64.1 Ohio: 64.2 Check out the full list here.