10 Most Depressing States in the U.S.

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West Virginia

The Mountain State is ranked last or next-to-last in every mental-health category on our list, including the average number of "mentally unhealthy" days residents have per month and the percentage of people who experience frequent mental distress (15%).

One reason may be that roughly two-thirds of West Virginians live in rural areas, where both steady jobs and access to mental health care can be hard to come by. A 2000 study found that while nearly 1 in 3 residents living in rural areas had "a high level" of depression symptoms, almost half had never been treated for the condition by any doctor, let alone a psychiatrist or mental-health specialist.