Are New Jersey Employees some of the Unhappiest in the USA?

If you have ever wondered if "The Grass is Greener on the other side of the fence" for your professional life, well new research shows that you may be happier working somewhere else if you live in the Northeastern United States.

The HR technology company SelectSoftware Reviews created a ranking of all 50 states that uses meters weighing factors such as annual wages, on-the-job injuries, Paid Time Off, employee quitting rates, state labor laws, average weekly working hours, commute times, and general happiness scores in that state.

According to their rankings, the state of New Jersey has the ninth most Unhappy Employees in the United States.  Even though the Garden State is ahead of its neighboring states of Pennsylvania (7th Unhappiest Employees State) and New York (5th Unhappiest Employees State), they still have among the high rates of employees quitting their jobs and highest rates of employee dissatisfaction with average weekly working hours.

The state of New York has the highest rates of injuries on the job and the longest commute times in the United States but they do have the third-highest average wages.  New Jersey has the highest average Household Income in the United States but is the third most expensive state for Household Expenses. Based on the latest research, it appears that the high Cost of Living in the Northeast may be a contributing factor to the Unhappiness of their Employees in those states.

The final rankings by SelectSoftware Reviews have Alaska, Rhode Island, North Dakota, Colorado, and Minnesota as the Top Five States with the Happiest Employees. On the flipside, the Top Five States with the Unhappiest Employees are Georgia, Texas, Florida, South Carolina, and New York.

My conclusion from all this information is that being in a state with a high average annual income (New Jersey and New York) or a warm weather state (Georgia and Florida) does not actually make people happier to work there. I am curious to know how many employers will take this research under advisement for the future of their operations.