People in Hawaii are the happiest and healthiest in the nation, according to an annual national survey released Wednesday.

We even like work.

The 2012 Gallup Healthways Well-being Index ranked Hawaii as the top state in the nation for the fourth year in a row.

Among metropolitan areas, Honolulu metro area, from about Aiea to Hawaii Kai, ranked seventh in the well-being index among urban communities.

Hawaii residents reported the best sense of satisfaction with life, emotional health, and work environment. We ranked second in healthy behavior and physical health.  We ranked 14th, still in the top half of the nation, in basic access to food, shelter, healthcare and a safe and satisfying place to live.

The ranking is based on daily surveys conducted over the course of a year with more than 353,000 respondents. A little less than a thousand people were surveyed in Hawaii.

Generally states that rank high in the survey rate their lives better today and in the future; have better emotional health, including much lower clinically diagnosed depression and daily sadness; are in better health with lower obesity, blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol; enjoy their jobs more; smoke less and exercise more, according to Gallup and Healthways, a well-being improvement company that works on reducing healthcare costs.

Besides Hawaii, the top states in 2012 were Colorado, Minnesota, Utah and Vermont. The bottom states were West Virginia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas.

Online:

Gallup Healthways Well-being Index: http://hsalinks.com/XkzFef

Hawaii report: http://hsalinks.com/YB250I