What Life Is Like In North Dakota, America's New Happiest State

In a recent Gallup ranking of the happiest states in the U.S., North Dakota shot up the list from number 19 to number 1, ousting longtime frontrunner Hawaii.

It ranked as the top state in both work environment and physical health, and was ranked 2nd in emotional health and 4th in life evaluation.

A big reason for North Dakota's success on this year's list has been a boom in job growth. For the fifth year in a row, the Midwestern state was number 1 in employee perceptions of job creation at their workplaces in 2013, as measured by the Gallup Job Creation Index.

North Dakota has also benefitted from a surge in its oil industry (look no further than its boomtown of Williston), and has the sixth-highest per-capita personal income in America, according to a new payroll-to-population state ranking.