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Wellbeing
Naples, Florida, Metro Tops U.S. in Wellbeing for Fourth Time
Wellbeing

Naples, Florida, Metro Tops U.S. in Wellbeing for Fourth Time

Story Highlights

  • Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island at or near top of list across all wellbeing elements
  • Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula residents had the lowest wellbeing
  • Boulder, Colorado, leads nation in physical wellbeing

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- For the fourth straight year, the Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, Florida, metro area had the highest wellbeing across 156 U.S. communities, based on data collected in 2017 and 2018 as part of the Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index. Salinas, California; Boulder, Colorado; Santa Rosa, California; and Ann Arbor, Michigan round out the top five metro areas.

Top 15 Cities, Overall Wellbeing in 2017-2018
Out of 156 Reportable Metropolitan Statistical Areas
Well-Being Index Score
Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, FL 65.7
Salinas, CA 64.6
Boulder, CO 64.5
Santa Rosa, CA 64.2
Ann Arbor, MI 64.2
Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL 63.8
Fort Collins, CO 63.8
Lancaster, PA 63.7
North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL 63.6
Asheville, NC 63.6
Port St. Lucie, FL 63.4
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA 63.4
Provo-Orem, UT 63.3
San Diego-Carlsbad, CA 63.3
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO 63.2
Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index

Naples area ascended to the top spot in 2014-2015 and has since remained there. This marks the first time in 11 years of annual Well-Being Index reporting that the same city has topped the rankings four times in a row.

The Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index is calculated on a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 represents the lowest possible wellbeing and 100 represents the highest possible wellbeing. The Well-Being Index score for the U.S. and for each metro area is based on scores within each of the five essential elements of wellbeing:

  • Career: liking what you do each day and being motivated to achieve your goals
  • Social: having supportive relationships and love in your life
  • Financial: managing your economic life to reduce stress and increase security
  • Community: liking where you live, feeling safe and having pride in your community
  • Physical: having good health and enough energy to get things done daily

In most cases, a difference of 1.0 to 2.0 points in the Well-Being Index score of any two areas represents a statistically significant gap and consists of meaningful differences in at least some of the five elements of wellbeing. Each city reported is represented as the broader metropolitan statistical area as defined by the federal government.

The Well-Being Index score for the Naples metro area, though remaining the highest in the U.S., has slipped from 67.6 for 2016-2017 to 65.7 in 2017-2018, a drop that parallels a significant two year decline in wellbeing nationally.

Gallup tracks wellbeing in metro areas using two-year rolling averages, allowing for larger sample sizes that improve the statistical accuracy of the data and allow more areas to be reported each year. For a full listing of all reportable metros, see the bottom of this article.

Each of the top five cities for 2017-2018 has frequented the list of the top 15 wellbeing cities numerous times in prior years.

Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula Has Lowest Wellbeing in U.S. for First Time

The Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula metro -- which held the third-lowest ranking in 2016-2017 -- had the lowest overall wellbeing nationally for the first time in 2017-2018, supplanting Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma and Canton-Massillon, Ohio, neither of which reached the minimum number of completed surveys required for reporting this period. Scranton--Wilkes-Barre--Hazleton, Pennsylvania was the second lowest metro, its lowest rank ever measured, followed by Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pennsylvania. The South Bend, Indiana-Michigan metro was among the lowest 15 cities for the second straight year.

Lowest 15 Cities, Overall Wellbeing in 2017-2018
Out of 156 Reportable Metropolitan Statistical Areas
Well-Being Index Score
Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, MS 57.4
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre--Hazleton, PA 57.9
Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA 58.1
Tulsa, OK 58.1
Rockford, IL 58.3
Bakersfield, CA 58.5
Memphis, TN-MS-AR 58.5
Springfield, MA 58.6
Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH 58.6
Toledo, OH 58.9
New Orleans-Metairie, LA 58.9
Salem, OR 59.1
Columbia, SC 59.2
South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI 59.3
Tallahassee, FL 59.3
Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index

Highest, Lowest Wellbeing Cities Reflect State Wellbeing Patterns

Nationally, the U.S. map of highest and lowest wellbeing cities generally reflects the pattern found across states, with the lowest wellbeing metro areas found primarily in the South and then winding north up through the industrial Midwest. The highest wellbeing cities are scattered primarily across the eastern seaboard as well as the Mountain West and West.

Map. U.S. cities with the highest and lowest wellbeing, 2017-2018.

Naples Metro Area Among Nation's Best in Most Elements

The Naples metro area was among the top two metros across all elements except physical wellbeing, thus continuing to demonstrate the high levels of holistic wellbeing that has previously characterized it.

Highlights for top-ranking cities in other areas of wellbeing in 2017-2018 include:

  • Boulder, a longtime pacesetter nationally in physical wellbeing, was the top U.S. city for the second year in a row for this element. The state of California provided the second- and third-ranked metros: Salinas and Santa Rosa.
  • McAllen-Edinburg-Mission topped the nation in career wellbeing, marking the fourth year in a row that the city has been among the highest five nationally.
  • Naples residents have the highest social wellbeing, edging out Montgomery, Alabama and fellow Floridian city, Ocala.
  • After Naples, the top metro areas in financial wellbeing are Ann Arbor, Michigan; and San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California.
  • Community wellbeing is highest in the Naples, Asheville, North Carolina and Fort Collins, Colorado metros.
Cities With Highest and Lowest Wellbeing Scores in Each Element
Highest Wellbeing Cities Lowest Wellbeing Cities
Career: McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX Syracuse, NY
Naples-Immokalee-Marco Isl., FL Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, MS
Salinas, CA Providence-Warwick, RI-MA
Social: Naples-Immokalee-Marco Isl., FL Tulsa, OK
Montgomery, AL Toledo, OH
Ocala, FL Springfield, MO
Financial: Naples-Immokalee-Marco Isl., FL Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, MS
Ann Arbor, MI New Orleans-Metairie, LA
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA Mobile, AL
Community: Naples-Immokalee-Marco Isl., FL Rockford, IL
Asheville, NC Scranton--Wilkes-Barre--Hazleton, PA
Fort Collins, CO Memphis, TN-MS-AR
Physical: Boulder, CO Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, MS
Salinas, CA Tulsa, OK
Santa Rosa, CA Rockford, IL
Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index

The Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula metro was among the lowest three areas for career, financial and physical wellbeing, while Tulsa (social and physical) and Rockford (community and physical) were each among the lowest three in two areas of wellbeing. New Orleans-Metairie, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama joined Gulfport with the lowest financial wellbeing.

Implications

American cities are not immune to the significant decline in wellbeing that has occurred nationally across the last two years. Even Naples, which has topped the nation in wellbeing four years running, is susceptible to these broader trends, dropping nearly two points in its Well-Being Index score since last year's reporting period. The manifestation of national trends locally is not insignificant; U.S. cities are at the front lines of American wellbeing and in many ways provide the best environments to improve it. City leaders are often able to create and sustain a culture of wellbeing in ways that leaders of more geographically diverse states cannot. This is critical, as wellbeing can have a very real effect on a wide variety of outcomes for a city. For example, cities with low wellbeing, as a whole, have residents with significantly higher obesity rates and double the heart attack incidence, thus incurring substantially higher healthcare costs.

As city leaders think about strategies to improve residents' lives, they should simultaneously consider recruiting local employers as a key means of driving change, as a critical component to creating and maintaining high wellbeing in cities is an abundance of good jobs and workplaces with engaging managers. Globally, individuals who report that now is a "good time" to find a job have substantially higher wellbeing than those who do not, and those who are employed full time for an employer evaluate their lives much better than others in the workforce do. The incentive for employers to care about wellbeing is substantial, as high-wellbeing cities have workers who suffer much lower rates of unplanned absenteeism due to poor heath coupled with higher overall performance.

Learn more about how the Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index works.

Well-Being Index and Full Element Rankings for U.S. Cities, 2017-2018
Out of 156 Reportable Metropolitan Statistical Areas
Sample Size Well-Being Index Score Physical Rank Community Rank Financial Rank Social Rank Career Rank
Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, FL 295 65.7 13 1 1 1 2
Salinas, CA 295 64.6 2 30 36 31 3
Boulder, CO 338 64.5 1 9 19 21 39
Santa Rosa, CA 474 64.2 3 4 16 27 77
Ann Arbor, MI 378 64.2 8 13 2 20 57
Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL 630 63.8 24 20 5 4 9
Fort Collins, CO 398 63.8 5 3 21 58 84
Lancaster, PA 517 63.7 30 7 12 12 15
North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL 830 63.6 21 6 8 7 19
Asheville, NC 524 63.6 34 2 23 11 32
Port St. Lucie, FL 430 63.4 14 27 7 26 13
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA 341 63.4 9 31 35 41 55
Provo-Orem, UT 600 63.3 47 23 14 8 29
San Diego-Carlsbad, CA 2512 63.3 10 26 33 34 22
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO 2797 63.2 12 40 24 60 40
Urban Honolulu, HI Metro 694 63.2 41 33 4 16 11
Salisbury, MD-DE 394 63.2 37 17 40 5 18
El Paso, TX 524 63.1 31 18 129 15 6
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 3516 63.0 11 57 110 6 7
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 1288 63.0 6 92 3 51 70
Lincoln, NE 415 63.0 70 15 11 36 14
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 5378 62.9 19 64 20 22 43
Portland-South Portland, ME 608 62.9 27 10 47 17 62
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 3645 62.8 7 68 15 32 98
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH 4240 62.8 15 29 26 25 103
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 3656 62.8 33 25 10 59 71
Ocala, FL 343 62.7 98 5 48 3 4
Manchester-Nashua, NH 383 62.7 17 63 31 13 60
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA 682 62.6 16 19 37 101 82
Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA 704 62.6 69 12 9 95 50
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 783 62.5 4 90 78 10 73
Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI 918 62.5 61 14 28 53 79
Austin-Round Rock, TX 1763 62.5 36 35 46 57 63
Colorado Springs, CO 702 62.5 22 48 44 86 46
Salt Lake City, UT 1169 62.4 35 59 30 79 38
Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC-NC 548 62.4 49 37 41 30 23
Madison, WI 735 62.4 23 22 18 127 112
Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN 1768 62.3 87 34 25 40 30
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 5427 62.2 56 46 70 50 31
Chattanooga, TN-GA 518 62.2 59 16 91 55 72
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 7610 62.2 18 83 92 56 42
Raleigh, NC 1204 62.2 57 36 34 38 95
Winston-Salem, NC 552 62.1 53 21 59 33 122
Vallejo-Fairfield, CA 307 62.1 20 112 29 54 78
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ 3531 62.1 43 56 65 47 33
Charleston-North Charleston, SC 665 62.1 76 45 83 18 26
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC 613 62.0 79 28 67 46 25
Jacksonville, FL 1198 62.0 44 80 107 29 16
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX 354 62.0 84 47 139 48 1
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 4090 61.9 52 58 121 83 24
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 3508 61.8 28 86 27 82 99
Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA 2022 61.8 25 84 72 45 116
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC 2031 61.8 74 55 73 44 48
Green Bay, WI 321 61.7 81 42 6 125 93
Ogden-Clearfield, UT 663 61.7 103 39 42 72 36
Albany-Schenectady-Troy,NY 921 61.7 46 95 17 71 53
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 4554 61.6 48 81 120 64 61
Roanoke, VA 299 61.6 104 49 62 35 41
Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA 1013 61.6 68 52 51 103 75
Norwich-New London, CT 296 61.6 58 104 13 104 44
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 13977 61.5 26 85 108 61 85
Knoxville, TN 860 61.5 99 24 54 66 58
San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX 1745 61.5 113 44 123 62 21
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 2563 61.4 40 65 86 75 139
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 2687 61.4 42 131 119 28 34
Kalamazoo-Portage, MI 330 61.4 60 69 102 136 56
Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, SC 783 61.4 110 38 117 69 27
Boise City-Nampa, ID 699 61.4 105 11 116 112 111
Tucson, AZ 950 61.4 77 99 85 14 51
Rochester, NY 1205 61.4 54 82 43 135 80
Montgomery, AL 348 61.3 137 79 125 2 8
Jackson, MS 441 61.3 111 124 93 19 5
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL 1829 61.3 63 77 136 39 49
Duluth, MN-WI 299 61.2 94 43 50 106 144
Pittsburgh, PA 2655 61.2 80 76 32 77 117
Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC 500 61.2 101 75 69 49 47
Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA 704 61.1 78 60 64 133 106
Eugene, OR 416 61.1 89 32 118 52 118
Fort Wayne, IN 422 61.1 119 53 79 97 68
Birmingham-Hoover, AL 1035 61.0 138 67 81 67 20
New Haven-Milford, CT 684 61.0 29 132 66 100 127
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC 1491 61.0 71 120 95 81 74
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 6465 61.0 45 116 77 96 87
Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL 619 61.0 86 66 53 70 109
Kansas City, MO-KS 2030 61.0 91 74 38 116 81
Columbus, OH 1829 61.0 123 72 56 93 76
Greensboro-High Point, NC 677 60.9 88 87 127 63 35
Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA 586 60.9 133 71 39 68 110
Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI 1536 60.9 82 93 45 120 101
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ 796 60.9 75 73 97 91 119
Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL 535 60.9 124 61 131 42 54
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR-MO 495 60.9 132 8 132 142 132
Albuquerque, NM 959 60.9 32 150 114 43 64
Huntsville, AL 430 60.9 127 41 96 99 131
Richmond, VA 1177 60.8 64 89 109 119 121
Lansing-East Lansing, MI 463 60.8 95 107 61 128 66
Cedar Rapids, IA 335 60.8 106 51 49 153 137
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 2666 60.7 97 54 130 74 92
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT 1096 60.7 38 130 55 111 133
Anchorage, AK 361 60.7 50 138 22 138 148
Reno, NV 403 60.7 62 115 71 118 141
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 5284 60.7 65 109 111 78 113
Wichita, KS 631 60.7 121 101 112 84 37
Trenton, NJ 308 60.6 39 134 103 108 89
Olympia, WA 336 60.6 55 125 76 89 143
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN Metro 1950 60.5 112 98 60 102 96
Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX 303 60.5 148 123 104 9 10
Canton-Massillon, OH 376 60.5 116 91 88 87 126
Cleveland-Elyria, OH 1977 60.5 85 103 84 117 88
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL 675 60.5 72 78 135 90 86
Worcester, MA-CT 822 60.5 51 114 137 114 115
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD 2410 60.4 73 142 74 80 114
Akron,OH 690 60.4 92 106 87 115 90
Reading, PA 383 60.4 102 102 115 88 69
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV 1432 60.4 96 135 113 85 65
Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL 515 60.4 118 118 105 107 45
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI 3602 60.3 93 108 99 109 128
Lafayette, LA 363 60.3 141 70 148 37 17
Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN 1766 60.3 126 94 90 126 124
Louisville-Jefferson County, KY-IN 1185 60.2 135 117 68 73 108
Springfield, MO 466 60.2 129 88 75 154 102
Lexington-Fayette, KY 431 60.2 152 50 82 92 97
Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY 1128 60.1 107 96 52 137 152
Modesto, CA 346 60.1 117 151 101 24 52
St. Louis, MO-IL 2689 60.1 100 122 98 122 138
Baton Rouge, LA 618 60.0 128 140 133 65 59
Shreveport-Bossier City, LA 401 60.0 122 143 143 98 12
Peoria, IL 330 60.0 145 126 57 94 125
Oklahoma City, OK 1355 59.9 143 97 126 140 67
Flint, MI 361 59.9 120 148 58 23 100
Mobile, AL 366 59.9 114 128 154 141 28
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC 323 59.8 142 62 140 113 83
Dayton, OH 797 59.7 134 129 63 145 104
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL 394 59.7 131 110 94 144 150
York-Hanover, PA 411 59.7 109 119 124 129 146
Killeen-Temple, TX 319 59.7 67 146 150 148 123
Providence-Warwick, RI-MA 1463 59.6 83 111 122 150 154
Fresno, CA 630 59.6 66 149 153 123 94
Syracuse, NY 668 59.5 90 141 89 121 156
Little Rock-N Little Rock-Conway, AR 666 59.4 151 100 138 124 136
Stockton-Lodi, CA 453 59.3 125 152 128 110 91
Tallahassee, FL 347 59.3 108 139 145 105 129
South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI 295 59.3 130 144 100 147 134
Columbia, SC 719 59.2 139 113 144 146 107
Salem, OR 398 59.1 147 105 142 149 145
New Orleans-Metairie, LA 1026 58.9 115 145 155 132 105
Toledo, OH 572 58.9 144 136 134 155 142
Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH 305 58.6 150 147 106 134 147
Springfield, MA 536 58.6 136 121 152 143 149
Memphis, TN-MS-AR 1036 58.5 146 154 147 139 120
Bakersfield, CA 524 58.5 140 153 151 151 130
Rockford, IL 291 58.3 154 156 80 131 135
Tulsa, OK 951 58.1 155 137 146 156 140
Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA 555 58.1 153 133 149 130 153
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre--Hazleton, PA 607 57.9 149 155 141 76 151
Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, MS 335 57.4 156 127 156 152 155
Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index


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