Report: The Communities With the Strongest Well-Being

LAST YEAR WAS A challenging time for Americans’ well-being, but some communities have fared better than others.

The annual Gallup-Sharecare Community Well-Being Index found that while national well-being declined between 2016 and 2017, some of the strongest communities stayed on top. Researchers conducted interviews with 337,690 adults across the country to assess purpose, social, financial, community and physical metrics that were then analyzed to calculate overall well-being for 186 communities. The study is part of a series that also includes a state-level index.

Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, Florida, landed the No.1 spot for the third consecutive year. Barnstable Town, Massachusetts, ranked No. 2, followed by Boulder, Colorado; Santa Cruz-Watsonville, California; and Charlottesville, Virginia, respectively. All five have frequented the top 10 in the past, according to the study.

The 2018 U.S. News Healthiest Communities rankings – drawn from an assessment of nearly 3,000 counties (and county-level cities) on critical factors that influence the health of their residents, such as education, area economy and infrastructure – will be released March 26.

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