10.13.15

New Report Provides Insight into Americans’ Financial Well-Being

An often overlooked determinant of overall health, medical costs, and performance and productivity, financial well-being is of considerable strategic importance to healthcare providers, payers and plans, as well as other population health stakeholders. With the release of a new report from the Gallup-Sharecare Well-Being Index®, these stakeholders can gain new insights into the state of Americans’ financial well-being.

The report, “New State Rankings Reveal Top 10 Highest and Lowest Well-Being States”, provides a snapshot of financial well-being in the United States, revealing that fewer than two out of five Americans (39 percent) are thriving in financial well-being. Thriving in financial well-being does not necessarily mean that people feel like they’re earning enough money, but rather how well they feel they’re managing their economic life to reduce stress and increase security.

Those people thriving in financial well-being are less likely than those suffering or struggling to be depressed, be obese or have high blood pressure. They’re also more likely to engage in healthy behaviors such as eating fresh produce, exercising and not smoking.

The report also provides a ranking of all 50 states based on this element. Hawaii ranks highest for financial well-being, followed by Alaska, North Dakota, Wyoming and South Dakota. Most of these states are also in the top five rankings for overall well-being, with the exception of North Dakota, which ranked 23rd in 2014 for overall well-being.

Financial well-being is lowest in Mississippi, which ranked 50th in the country. The South dominates the list of ten states with the lowest financial well-being, with Tennessee, Georgia, Louisiana and Kentucky rounding out the lowest five states.

You can read more about the rankings here and download a copy of the report here.

The Gallup-Sharecare Well-Being Index uses a holistic definition of well-being and self-reported data from individuals across the globe to create a unique view of societies’ progress on the elements that matter most to well-being: purpose, social, financial, community and physical. It is the most proven, mature and comprehensive measure of well-being in populations. Previous Gallup and Sharecare research shows that high well-being closely relates to key health outcomes such as lower rates of healthcare utilization, lower workplace absenteeism and better workplace performancechange in obesity status and new onset disease burden.

To discover where other states — including yours — fall within the rankings, download a copy of the report today. You can also subscribe to content from the Well-Being Index; by subscribing, we’ll let you know when we release new reports and insights from the Well-Being Index.