The Best, Worst States for Vacation Days

Project: Time Off recently set out to uncover more about Americans' vacation habits and in the process discovered the nation's vacation leaders and laggards. Perhaps unsurprisingly, data shows that employees who use their vacation days for travel are significantly happier compared to those who spend their off time at home.

The Centennial State leads the way when it comes to vacation days, using an average of 20.3. For perspective, that's more than 5 percent of the year and a full day more than the second-place state. Plus, more than half of those days (11.7) are spent traveling.

Although Virginia trails Colorado in terms of average vacation days used (18.9), it takes the top spot when it comes to vacation days spent traveling. The 12.2 vacation days Virginians spend traveling is significantly higher than the American average of eight days. Nonetheless, only 26 percent of residents leave their work behind on vacation.

Arizona ranks third when it comes to vacation days used, with desert dwellers using 18.8 on average. However, New Jersey beats it in terms of vacation days spent traveling (11.1), trailing only Virginia and Colorado.

On the other end of the spectrum, the smallest state clocks in with a disappointing average of 16.5 vacation days used. Still, Rhode Island might be better off than South Dakota, where residents spend a national low of 4.3 of their vacation days traveling. Perhaps unsurprisingly, only one in five employees there report being happy with their health and well-being.

Delaware ties Rhode Island, averaging just 16.5 vacation days per year. That's upsetting considering residents are so close to some of the country's best beaches and attractions.

Montana is the worst when it comes to using those beloved vacation days. Big Sky Country averaged just 16.3 vacation days last year. That's well below the U.S. average of 17.2 days.