Happiness is above average

IT’S official – happiness levels are on the up in Halton. The Office For National Statistics (ONS) has released figures on average happiness levels where people gave a score when asked to rate how happy they were the previous day.

A zero means someone is ‘not at all happy’ and 10 means they are ‘ completely happy’.

And in Halton in 2018/19, the average score given by people in the borough was 7.49.

It is a rise from the 7.42 average given in 2017/18, and also an increase from the 7.29 the previous year.

Across the UK as a whole, there was a slight improvement in average happiness ratings from 7.5 to 7.6.

People in Surrey Heath are the least likely to give high marks for happiness, with people there scoring an average of 6.7 out of 10, while those living in the Ribble Valley in Lancashire were the happiest in the UK with a rating of 8.3 out of 10.

Life satisfaction in Halton – again rated out of 10 – measured 7.62 in 2018/19, a slight drop from the 7.64 in 2017/18, but higher than the 7.56 given in 2016/17.

The question posed to participants asked them how satisfied they are with their life nowadays, with zero meaning ‘not at all satisfied’ and 10 being ‘completely satisfied’.

Fylde in Lancashire was the area where people rated their satisfaction with most highly – with a score of 8.5 out of 10.

The UK average was 7.7 out of 10, with people in Corby, Northamptonshire, the least likely to be satisfied with life, giving a score of 7.2.

For feeling life is worthwhile, the average rating in Runcorn and Widnes has risen from 7.82 out of 10 in 2017/18 to 7.87 in 2018/19.

For this question, people were asked to what extent overall they felt things they do in life are worthwhile.

Zero meant things are ‘not at all worthwhile’ and 10 is ‘ completely worthwhile’.

For feeling life is worthwhile, people in South Derbyshire gave the highest rating at 8.5 out of 10, while the lowest was in Adur at 7.4.

This compares to the UK average of 7.9 out of 10.

Anxiety levels appear to be on the decline in Halton too, with an average rating of just 2.60 out of 10 given in 2018/19 – below the whole UK average of 29.

It is a fall from the 2.97 and 2.77 given in the previous two years.