If you want to take that vacation, go to Hawaii. But stay away from West Virginia. In a Gallup poll released yesterday, those two states ranked as the least and most stressful places to live, respectively.

The annual Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index tracks the stress levels of Americans living in all 50 states. Over 350,000 people were interviewed over the course of a year and were asked to answer the question: “Did you feel stressed during a lot of the day yesterday?”

West Virginians felt the most stressed, with 47.1% answering in the affirmative.

Rhode Island, Kentucky, Utah and Massachusetts didn’t fare much better, coming in right behind. Worrisomely, West Virginia, Kentucky and Utah have ranked in the top five consistently for the past five years, though it is unclear why.

According to the survey, stress levels overall did not deviate considerably in 2012 compared with 2011. The Northeast and Midwest consistently reported the highest levels of stress than other regions of the United States, with a few exceptions.

Less-stressed states tended to report more ‘enjoyment’ in comparison to the most-stressed states.

Unsurprisingly, Hawaii is the most relaxed state in the union — a title it’s held for the past five years.

5 Least Stressful States

  1. Hawaii

  2. Louisiana

  3. Mississippi

  4. Iowa

  5. Wyoming

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By Erica Ho