Where you live has a lot to do with how you feel. A recent study from Soliant Health, a healthcare research and staffing company based in Atlanta, Georgia, revealed this year’s best and worst U.S. states to live in for mental health.
The report weighed numerous factors that impact people’s mental health status across all 50 states and drew from national registries and agency data. These included the frequency of “bad mental health days,” access to mental health providers, the suicide rate between the ages of 15 and 24, the unemployment rate, the violent crime rate, the disconnected youth rate, access to exercise opportunities and air pollution, the published report stated.
According to the report, the top ten best states for mental health are Nebraska, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Vermont, Colorado, North Dakota, and Utah. Nebraska landed in the top spot, having the lowest share of teenagers and young adults who are unemployed or not in school. The Cornhusker State hit a high score of 85.2 out of 100 in weighted mental health points.
Runners-up Connecticut and Massachusetts scored a close 85 and 81.8 points, respectively. West Virginia ranked as the worst state in the U.S. for mental health, followed by Alabama and Arkansas. West Virginia had the highest average number of mentally unhealthy days in the last 30 days. According to the report, Alabama had the worst mental health provider-to-population ratio and came second-to-last for the most mentally unhealthy days.
Arkansas scored low in various categories, including exercise opportunities, disconnected youth rate, air pollution and mentally unhealthy days. The report gave honorable mentions to findings in states like California, which ranked highest for the most access to exercise opportunities but lowest for air pollution. In a statement sent to Fox News Digital, Dr. Gary Small, psychiatry chair of Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey, reacted to his state’s clinching a top spot on the list.
He said, “I am delighted, but not surprised, that New Jersey ranked No. 6 in Soliant Health’s 2023 Best States for Mental Health Report. Over the past several years, our state has steadily expanded its focus on mental health.” Small also pointed out that New Jersey has recently “allocated aid to mental health care, including the 988 hotline and mental health services for students.” Small noted that the Garden State has one of the most “educated and high-income populations in the country,” which correlates to better access to care and healthier lifestyle habits.
Small continued, “For people in that demographic, there is greater access to exercise opportunities, which is more important to mental health than most people realize. Regular physical activity leads to lower rates of depression, anxiety and age-related cognitive decline.”
As New Jersey was one of the “hardest-hit states” during the coronavirus pandemic, Small said this led to the state’s enhancing its focus on mental health. “Sadly, California ranked No. 17 on this report, which reflects the many challenges our states are facing due to the recent explosion of mental health problems and inadequate resources throughout our nation,” he noted.