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PROVO — The Provo-Orem ranks No.1 in community well-being and is the No. 7 happiest place to live in the United States, according to the latest Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index.
Researchers interviewed over 176,000 adults in all 50 states and calculated scores for the 100 most populous communities based on five elements: Purpose, social, financial, community and physical well-being.
Top 10 Cities:
The Provo/Orem area was No. 1 for community well-being. Provo City Mayor John Curtis said he’s not surprised that residents like living there.
“I think Provo has a tremendous foundation,” Curtis said. “We build on this foundation for a very high quality life. Good healthcare, good education, quality people. So we tend to get these high rankings, a lot of times, because of the strong foundation that we have.”
- North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida
- Honolulu, Hawaii
- Raleigh, North Carolina
- Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, California
- El Paso, Texas
- Austin-Round Rock, Texas
- Provo-Orem, Utah
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California
- Washington, D.C.-Arlington-Alexandria, Virginia
- Winston-Salem, North Carolina
The communities in the top 10 shared many characteristics that were uncommon in the cities in the bottom 10, according to the Gallup news release. People tend to exercise more, are less likely to be obese, have fewer health problems and feel safe where they live.
Former Provo resident Megan Watkins Smith said in addition to all the activities available, feeling safe was one reason she enjoyed living in Provo.
“I also felt very safe there,” Smith said. “Maybe it was a false sense of safety... but nevertheless, I felt safe.”
Utah ranked No. 8 for highest well-being in the nation in 2014.
Bottom 10 Cities
- Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pennsylvania
- Toledo, Ohio
- Knoxville, Tennessee
- Dayton, Ohio
- Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, Indiana
- Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, Florida
- Scranton-Wilkes-Barre-Hazleton, Pennsylvania
- Columbus, Ohio
- Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, Michigan
- Cincinnati, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana
Residents in the bottom 10 cities were more likely to have health problems, be obese and have less access to food and healthcare.
Five of the 10 cities are located in Ohio, which ranked No. 4 worst state for well-being in 2014. Dan Witters, research director for the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, told today.com that dental care was lacking in the bottom 10 cities as well.
“Good oral health makes a difference in well-being and that’s not something people would normally think about,” Witters said. “People in high well-being cities take good care of their teeth.”
