DC Metro Region Ranks Third In US On Sharecare Well-Being Index

WASHINGTON, DC — The Washington, D.C. metropolitan area ranked third among all metro areas in the United States on Sharecare's 2020 Community Well-Being Index, according to a release.

For the second year in a row, the greater San Francisco area topped the index, posting high scores in housing and transportation (#1); food access (#4); financial well-being (#3); social well-being (#4); and purpose well-being (#5).

The Washington, D.C. metro region score high in financial well-being (#4) and social well-being (#3).

To come up with its annual index, digital health company Sharecare and the Boston University School of Public Health looked at how the 383 metro areas and 3,142 counties, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, built an environment and culture of well-being in their communities.

Sharecare and BUSPH looked at individual well-being factors, such as physical health, community, social relationships, financial, and sense of purpose. They also considered social determinants of heath, such access to healthcare, food, resources, housing, transportation, and economic security.

"Building on our earlier release of state rankings, Sharecare and BUSPH's investigation into U.S. community well-being trends in 2020 has demonstrated the array of factors that shape well-being at both a community and individual level," said Dr. Kimberly Dukes, executive director of BUSPH's Biostatistics & Epidemiology Data Analytics Center, in a release. "Through the Index's breadth, depth, and sophisticated statistical techniques, we will continue to explore both macro and micro trends that chart the trajectory of community well-being across time and place."

The following metropolitan areas ranked at the top of Sharecare's 2020 Community Well-Being Index:

1. San Francisco-Oakland- Hayward, CA
2. San Jose-Sunnyvale- Santa Clara, CA
3. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
4. Boston-Cambridge- Newton, MA-NH
5. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT

The metropolitan areas that were at the bottom of 2020 Community Well-Being Index were: McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX; Las Cruces, NM; Sumter, SC, Farmington, NM; and Pine Bluff, AR

Maryland ranked fourth among state in the 2020 Community Well-Being Index, scoring second in overall individual well-being, financial, social, community, and purpose, as well as fifth in the overall social determinants of health.

Virginia was ranked 11th and West Virginia 47th in the state rankings.

Read the full report of Sharecare's Community Well-Being Index for 2020.