A metropolitan area in Michigan tops the list of cities providing residents with basic needs in health care, safety, and other essentials, according to a Gallup and Healthways survey announced today. Holland-Grand Haven, Mich., ranks first, followed closely behind by two Iowa metro areas. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas, ranks last. Five of 10 worst metro areas for meeting residents' basic needs are in California, and these are clustered together primarily in the middle of the state.
Those areas that scored highest on basic needs also had the lowest crime rates.
The survey included 187 metro areas, and was based on responses from 353,000 American adults interviewed by telephone in 2009. Residents were asked about their access to 13 basic necessities, such as safe places to exercise, easy access to fresh fruits and vegetables, money for food and shelter, access to clean water and to health care.
City scores from the responses were used to calculate the Basic Access Index. The national average for 2009 was 82.2 out of 100 points, down from 83.6 in 2008.
Here's who filled out the top and bottom 10, along with Basic Access Index scores:
Top 10:
1. Holland-Grand Haven, Mich. – 89.3
2. Madison, Wis. – 88.0
3. Des Moines-West Des Moines, Iowa – 87.7
4. Cedar Rapids, Iowa – 87.3
5. Portland-South Portland-Biddeford, Maine – 87.0
6. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.-Wis. – 86.7
7. Lancaster, Pa. – 86.7
8. Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Mass.-N.H.
9. Honolulu, Hawaii – 86.4
10. Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Conn. – 86.4
Bottom 10:
1. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas – 72.2
2. Visalia-Porterville, Calif. – 73.8
3. Bakersfield, Calif. – 75.3
4. Modesto, Calif. – 75.5
5. Lake Havasu City-Kingman, Ariz. – 76.4
6. Stockton, Calif. – 76.4
7. Huntington, Ashland, W. Va.-Ky-Ohio – 76.8
8. Salinas, Calif. – 76.8
9. El Paso, Texas – 77.0
10. Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev. – 77.1
Read More over at Livescience
