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The area, in Larimer County in the north-central part of Colorado, consistently reports high levels of satisfaction. Along with San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, Calif., which reported the second-highest satisfaction level, it was among the communities with the highest overall level of well-being.
"Fort Collins-Loveland residents' satisfaction with their community may be linked to the community's success in other aspects of life," Gallup notes. "In 2012-2013, Fort Collins-Loveland ranked high in terms of communities where residents have easy access to fruit and vegetables. It was also one of the towns that inspired Main Street, U.S.A. at Disneyland."
On the other end of the spectrum, Rockford, Ill. reported the lowest level of resident satisfaction, with 72.8% saying they were satisfied with their community.
According to Gallup, "While the city used to be a major manufacturing hub, many companies have since closed local plants. And Woodward Inc., a maker of aircraft fuel system components, though founded in Rockford, has moved its headquarters to Fort Collins. Rockford has recently been plagued by high unemployment and high property taxes, and the community ranked third on the 2013 Forbes List of America's Most Miserable Cities because of a three-decade decline in their manufacturing based economy."
Here are the 10 communities that reported highest and lowest levels of satisfaction, according to Gallup:
Gallup asked Americans how satisfied they were with the city or area in which they lived as part of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. Gallup interviewed at least 300 adults aged 18 and older in 189 metropolitan areas throughout 2012-2013, speaking to 531,630 people in total.
The complete ranking is below.
Gallup