Provo-Orem, Utah, has been named the nation's top community for health and well-being, according to a new Gallup-Healthways survey.
The findings, detailed on the
LiveScience Website, are based on an analysis of health and wellness factors in nearly 200 U.S. metropolitan areas conducted in 2012 and 2013.
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Other top cities for well-being include Boulder, Colo.; Fort Collins-Loveland, Colo.; Honolulu; and San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif. The lowest-ranking metro areas for well-being were Huntington-Ashland (a metro area that spans parts of West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio); and Charleston, W.Va.
Out of a possible 100 points, Provo-Orem scored 71.4 on the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, while Huntington-Ashland scored just 59.5.
The rankings are based on six measures of residents' lives: emotional health, physical health, healthy behaviors, access to basic necessities, job environment (including satisfaction), and a self-evaluation of present and future life.
The well-being scores for metro areas tend to line up with the well-being for states, which are generally higher in the Midwest and West, and lower in the South, Gallup said in a statement. West Virginia includes two low-ranking metro areas, and the state also ranked last in the country for well-being in 2013.
California ranked 17th for well-being in 2013 and, in the current survey, has three metro areas in the top 10, Gallup said.
Among the nation's 52 largest metro areas, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif. ranked first in overall well-being, followed by San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif., and Washington, D.C.-Arlington-Alexandria, which spans parts of Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia.
The metro area with the best scores for physical health and access to basic necessities was Holland-Grand Haven, Mich. San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, Calif., ranked highest in work environment.
The survey results are based on telephone interviews with more than 531,000 U.S. adults conducted between Jan. 2, 2012, and Dec. 30, 2013.
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