Naples, Fl., metro tops U.S. in well-being
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Barnstable Town, Massachusetts; Boulder, Colorado; Santa Cruz-Watsonville, California; and Charlottesville, Virginia, round out the top five metro areas.
After having the seventh-highest well-being community in 2012-2013, the Naples area ascended to the top spot in 2014-2015 and has since remained there.
This marks the first time in 10 years of annual Well-Being Index reporting that the same community has topped the rankings three times in a row.
The Well-Being Index score for the Naples metro area has climbed to 67.6 for 2016-2017 from 66.3 in 2015-2016. This uptick has come amid a significant decline in well-being nationally.
Gallup tracks well-being in metro areas using two-year rolling averages, allowing for larger sample sizes that improve the statistical accuracy of the data and allow more communities to be reported each year.
The two-year rolling measurement periods for communities mean that data from interviews conducted during 2016 are included in both the 2015-2016 report and the 2016-2017 report.
Each of the top five communities for 2016-2017 have frequented the list of the top 10 well-being communities numerous times in prior years.
Other top communities that typically have ranked among the highest for well-being since 2008 include Lynchburg, Virginia; North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida; the San Luis Obispo, California, metro; Lancaster, Pennsylvania; Fort Collins, Colorado; and Urban Honolulu, Hawaii.
Prescott, Arizona, broke into the highest 10 list for the first time this cycle after finishing 13th in 2015-2016. ■