Study: What’s The “Peak Life Satisfaction” Age For Illinoisans?

A new study looks at how satisfied with our lives we feel as we (if we're lucky) continue aging, and hopefully learning more about how life actually works. There's a good news/bad news component to this study, though.

In almost every state, Illinois included, the age at which you achieve peak life satisfaction begins with a 4. There are some exceptions, like Mississippi (age 39), Maryland (age 37), and Vermont (age 63), along with Montana (age 55), New Mexico (age 51), and Rhode Island (age 50).

So, What Exactly Is The Criteria For  Determining Peak Life Satisfaction?

According to the study done by MixBook.com, here's what they looked at to come up with their age numbers per state:

The team at Mixbook.com wanted to find out when the average American considered they’d reached peak life satisfaction - happiness with work, friends, family, relationships; in essence, the direction their lives had taken them. We surveyed 3,000 over 65’s for their opinions.

It makes sense that they surveyed people who are 65 years old and older, because how would you know what age you've hit peak satisfaction without having lived through several decades? Plus, the older I get, the more I'm convinced that I'm slightly less dumb than I was when I was younger (although my wife and kids might want to debate that).

Here In Illinois, The Study Says That Our Peak Life Satisfaction Comes At Age 41

Well...I guess if you're younger than 41, you've got something great to look forward to. However, those of us who are beyond that age...let the depression begin, um...well, we've got stuff to look forward to, too...right? Right?

I'm reasonably sure the answer is yes.

As to our neighboring Midwestern states, here are the ages that they can expect to reach peak happiness:

• Wisconsin: 40
• Iowa: 48
• Missouri: 45
• Kentucky: 43
• Indiana: 43