The Top 10 States With The Happiest Employees

Employee happiness is one of the clearest signs of a healthy workplace, as Harvard’s Jan‑Emmanuel De Neve has shown. Do employees feel genuinely recognized for their contributions? Do they leave work with enough energy to be present at family dinners, chase late‑night passions, or simply leave work in the office and truly disconnect when away from their desk?

In November 2025, Wave Connect released a report authored by Georges El‑Hage that takes these very questions into account to create a visual of how happy and fulfilled America’s workforce really is – state-by-state.

Happiness isn’t necessarily an easy thing to measure. In order to do so, the study took Bureau of Labor Statistics data and Gallup engagement surveys and scored each state on income growth, average work hours, and the amount of time left for personal life after accounting for work and sleep.

They also factored in employee engagement rates (how invested workers feel in their jobs); quit rates (a proxy for satisfaction and stability); and broader state happiness levels. Below are the top ten states where workers proved to be the happiest.

Hawaii ranked first, with average salaries topping $63,000 and 35% of workers reporting they love what they do. Delaware followed close behind, boasting the shortest work week in the nation at just 32 hours and the highest engagement score at 36%. Maine came in third, with a low employee turnover rate of 1.8% and average salaries of $54,800.

“Half of the top 10 states for employee happiness are in the Northeast, which makes sense when you look at the numbers,” said Georges El‑Hage, Founder & CEO of Wave Connect. “Salaries are higher there, but work hours stay roughly the same as everywhere else. That combination gives people more money to save, better access to services, and stronger public infrastructure funded by higher tax revenues.”

Outside of Hawaii’s lead in overall employee happiness, several states stood out in the individual categories. Massachusetts had the highest average annual salary at $71,800. In terms of job stability, Connecticut and Massachusetts tied for the lowest turnover rate at just 1.3%.

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