A ranking of states based on their happiness levels over four years placed New Jersey in the bottom five, listing the Garden State as one of the least happiest in the country. The happiness ratings, compiled by Economists Andrew J. Oswald of the University of Warwick in England and Stephen Wu of Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y., were based on a survey of 1.3 million people across the country by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The top five states were, from the top, Louisiana, Hawaii, Florida, Tennessee and Arizona. The bottom five states, in order from worst, were New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Michigan and Indiana.

The ratings used data collected over four years that included a question asking people how satisfied they are with their lives.

They then compared the happiness ranking with studies that rated states on a variety of criteria ranging from availability of public land to commuting time to local taxes. Their report in today’s edition of the journal Science found the happiest people tend to live in the states that do well in quality-of-life studies. Star Ledger.