Oregon Falls in National Well-Being Rankings

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Saturday, January 30, 2016

Brendan Murray, GoLocalPDX Contributor

Oregon is getting less healthy, at least according to Gallup. In a new report on the Well-Being of each state in the union from the public research company, Oregon took a fall, dropping 4 spots in the rankings released this week.

The data is part of Gallup’s annual report entitled “The State of American-Well Being—2015 State Well-Being Rankings. Oregon was ranked 31st out of the fifty states and the District of Columbia, after being ranked 27th in the 2014 rankings.

To determine the rankings, Gallup scores each state in five different categories in order to determine a final well-being score. The categories—purpose, social, financial, community, and physical—measure a wide range of health and well-being factors. Oregon was given a total well-being score of 61.7

Last in the Northwest, Bottom Half Nationally

Oregon’s well-being ranking paled in comparison to their brethren on the West Coast. Of the three states typically considered part of the region, Oregon finished the worst. 

California led the way among states to border the Pacific Ocean. The Golden State received a score of 62.7, good enough to come in the top 10. Washington also bested Oregon, finishing with a score of 62.0, good enough for 24th in the union.

Not one of Oregon’s rankings for the individual metrics put them in the top 50 percent of the United States. The Beaver State’s best scores came in the categories measuring social well-being, which tracks supportive relationships, and community well-being, which measures how much a person likes the area they live in, where Oregon finished at 25th in the country in both categories.

In all other categories, Oregon lagged well behind at least 50 percent of the country. The state was ranked 29th in financial well-being, 33rd in purpose, which records how many people like what they do and achieve their goals and 35th in physical well-being.

Around the U.S.

Nationally, well-being is statistically unchanged from 2014, with the Well-Being Index score for the U.S. at 61.7 in 2015, compared to 61.6 in 2014. 

Since 2012, the top 10 states with the most consistently high well-being scores are Hawaii, Colorado, Montana, South Dakota, Minnesota, Utah, Nebraska, Iowa, Alaska and Vermont. In terms of the well-being elements, in 2015 Delaware leads in purpose; South Carolina in social; Alaska in financial; Montana in community; and Hawaii in physical.

According to the Gallup report, the states that most often receive the highest and lowest marks for well being show off some common elements.

“At the same time, the citizens in many of the lowest well-being states have consistently reported low well-being since 2008,” Gallup wrote. “West Virginia and Kentucky have been the lowest and second lowest well-being states in the country, respectively, for seven straight years. West Virginia is last in the nation in four of the five elements, while Mississippi has the lowest financial well-being in the nation.”
 

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Related Slideshow: By The Numbers: How Oregonians Rate Their Healthcare Providers

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