Home » Kentucky ranked nationally near bottom for well-being among residents 55 and older, says Gallup poll

Kentucky ranked nationally near bottom for well-being among residents 55 and older, says Gallup poll

Only West Virginia has lower score

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 8, 2016) — Older Kentuckians are some of the least happiest seniors in the U.S., according to the Well-Being Index by Gallup.

The poll of 115,572 adults 55 and older in all 50 states and Washington D.C. asked participants about five categories that affect their lives:

  • Purpose: liking what you do each day and being motivated to achieve your goals
  • Social: having supportive relationships and love in your life
  • Financial: managing your economic life to reduce stress and increase security
  • Community: liking where you live, feeling safe and having pride in your community
  • Physical: having good health and enough energy to get things done daily

The Well-Being Index is calculated on a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 represents the lowest possible well-being and 100 represents the highest possible well-being. Kentucky was nearly dead last with a total score of 61.2, beating out only West Virginia, which scored a 59.9. Hawaii was No. 1 with a score of 67.

In most cases, a difference of 1.0 point in the Well-Being Index score between any two states represents a statistically significant gap, according to Gallup.

Among the five categories Kentucky had the second lowest score for Physical, third lowest for Purpose and fifth lowest for Social.