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Several Colorado communities rate among the nation’s best when it comes to the overall wellbeing of its residents, according to a Gallup poll released this week.
Boulder and Fort Collins-Loveland are among the top five metropolitan areas when it comes to wellbeing, which Gallup defines as overall satisfaction with “life evaluation, emotional health, work environment, physical health, healthy behaviors, and access to basic necessities.” Lincoln, Nebraska, is No. 1 overall. The Denver-Aurora metro area rates as the fourth-best metro area among communities with 1 million or more residents, the survey says. The Washington, D.C-Alexandria, Virginia, corridor rated as the best among large-population areas.
Gallup reports that high wellbeing cities “tend to exhibit many shared characteristics, including positive health and wellbeing outcomes—like low chronic disease rates and high life ratings—and behaviors such as frequent exercise and less smoking. These commonalities consistently demonstrate a mutual foundation upon which the top cities ascertain and maintain their status as standard bearers of wellbeing in America.”
The survey’s report also says high wellbeing communities like Boulder and Fort Collins-Loveland are “models to emulate and goals for others to aspire to….” The fact that two of Colorado’s college communities were rated highly isn’t much of a surprise. In a Gallup poll released earlier this month, Boulder—along with Provo, Utah, and Ann Arbor, Michigan—ranked highly nationwide when it came to “learning new and interesting things.” Perhaps unsurprising, too, Gallup says, is that 81 percent of Boulder’s residents went to the dentist at least once a year—which was better than any other American city.
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