Healthy Living
Austin ranks highest among Texas cities for overall well-being
The Austin-Round Rock metro area has one more healthy notch to add to its belt. Gallup's Well-Being Index ranks Austin-Round Rock the highest of all Texas areas, coming in at No. 33 on the list of 189 places nationwide.
The Well-Being Index measures rates of diabetes, obesity, frequency of exercise and produce consumption, city optimism, and uninsured residents to create an overall well-being score on a scale of 100.
In a report released on March 26, Lincoln, Nebraska, took top honors for 2012 with an overall score of 72.8. Boulder, Colorado; Honolulu, Hawaii; Ann Arbor, Michigan; and San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, California, also cracked the top 10.
Austin-Round Rock scored the highest of all Texas areas, with an overall score of 68.9, with 8.9 percent of residents suffering from diabetes and 22.7 percent from obesity, both of which are below the national average. City optimism was ranked at 72.3 percent.
The metropolitan area of Dallas, Fort Worth and Arlington ranked No. 57, and scored 67.9. Houston ranks No. 75 on the list with an overall well-being score of 67.6. But Austin, Dallas and Houston all enjoy a higher-than-average rate of well-being. The national average score on the index is 66.7.