Nebraska earned the top spot on Soliant Health's annual list of the "Best States for Mental Health."
The list, released Sept. 8, ranks states on factors that affect mental health and mental healthcare access. Categories used for this year's list ranged from frequency of "bad mental health days" reported by the existing population to air pollution, to offset states with limited access to exercise opportunities due to rural environments. Suicide rate of those ages 15 to 24, access to mental health providers, unemployment rate, violent crime rate, disconnected youth rate and access to exercise opportunities were the other categories included. More information about the methodology is available here.
The 10 best states for mental health in the U.S., according to Soliant:
Note: Soliant added each state's weighted value for all categories to determine the final ranking. A total of 100 points was possible across the eight mental health categories. Each state's total points are listed next to the state.
1. Nebraska — 85.2
2. Connecticut — 85
3. Massachusetts — 81.8
4. Minnesota — 81.4
5. Rhode Island — 79
6. New Jersey — 78.4
7. Vermont — 78.3
8. Colorado — 77.6
9. North Dakota — 77.5
10. Utah — 77