West Virginia Capital Named Worst US City for Well-Being
Published at(NEW YORK) — Despite its slogan — “Hip, Historic … Almost Heaven” — Charleston, W.V., came in last in Gallup’s latest well-being poll.
The city scored a meager 60.8 points on the pollster’s well-being index — a 100-point scale measuring physical and emotional health, work environment and access to basic necessities.
The nearby Huntington-Ashland metropolitan area scored 61.2, landing in the bottom two for the third year in a row.
Mobile, Ala., Utica-Rome, N.Y., Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, N.C., and Fort Smith, Ark.-Okla., round out the roster of frequent bottom dwellers.
Topping the list was Lincoln, Neb., which scored 72.8, landing in the top 20 cities for the third year in a row. Honolulu came in first for emotional health, and Charlottesville, Va., ranked No. 1 for physical health, according to the poll.
Top 10 Metropolitan Areas for Well-Being
Lincoln, Neb. — 72.8
Boulder, Colo. – 72.7
Burlington-South Burlington, Vt. – 72.4
Provo-Orem, Utah – 71.7
Fort Collins-Loveland, Colo. – 71.6
Barnstable Town, Mass. – 71.5
Honolulu, Hawaii – 71.5
Ann Arbor, Mich. – 71.4
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C., Va., Md., W.V. – 71.3
San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, Calif. – 71.2
Bottom 11 Metropolitan Areas for Well-Being
Charleston, W.V. – 60.8
Huntington-Ashland, W.V., Ky., Ohio – 61.2
Mobile, Ala. – 62.4
Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas – 62.5
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, N.C. – 62.7
Fort Smith, Ark., Okla. – 62.9
Bakersfield, Calif. – 63.0
Evansville, Ind., Ky. – 63.1
Rockford, Ill. – 63.1
Spartanburg, S.C. – 63.4
Utica-Rome, N.Y. – 63.4
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