Nebraska gives its citizens a good chance to be happy

The McCook Chamber of Commerce’s goal of making McCook a good place to live, work and play is a worthy one, and the state’s conditions give it a good head start, according to the latest study by a personal finance website.

WalletHub ranks Nebraska as the 10th “Happiest State” in the U.S., using 31 key indicators of happiness, ranging from emotional health to income level to sports participation.

Before you repeat the “money can’t buy happiness” axiom, know that WalletHub agrees somewhat; “Happiness only increases with wealth up to an annual income of $75,000. But one thing that can have a big influence on how we feel about life is where we choose to live.”

Money is a definite requirement if you want to live in WalletHub’s “happiest” state using its criteria, Hawaii, but you can do much worse than Nebraska using the same measures.

Nebraska is in the middle of the pack when it comes to safety, 25th, and depression, 26th, but we’re a leader when it comes to volunteering, 5th, a proven emotional lift.

We tend to stay married longer, 6th best in separation and divorce, get more sleep, 10th, have a growing income, 12th, and have a lower suicide rate than most states, 14th fewest.

There is always room for improvement, and we hope you caught a column Friday by Jeff Yost of the Nebraska Community Foundation, who lauded a local effort.

He was referring to the Sehnert Challenge, a two-to-one challenge grant by Susan Stuart of Lincoln in honor of her parents, Walt and Jean Sehnert, leaders in McCook’s cultural scene.

Susan’s $100,000 two-to-one match, offered earlier this year, was quickly met. She then doubled her grant, and more than 100 families have already taken up the challenge.

It’s a worthy goal, and a practical way to help keep McCook a great place to live, work and play.

Find out more, and consider making a donation here.

Read the WalletHub report here.