Cedar Rapids Receives Top Ranking for Quality of Life

CEDAR RAPIDS (The Corridor Business Journal) – On May 10, the annual Gallup-Healthways Basic Access Index was released, ranking Cedar Rapids fourth out of 187 U.S. metro areas for providing basic necessities for a better quality of life. Cedar Rapids received an 87.3 index score, two points from the top ranked metro area.

Among the 13 basic access items measured by the survey, Cedar Rapids received the highest points in the nation for Americans having enough money for health care and having visited a dentist in the last 12 months.

"We are very pleased with this ranking," said Marilee Fowler, Cedar Rapids Area Convention & Visitors Bureau president. "This is a great acknowledgement of the extraordinary quality of life Cedar Rapids residents enjoy and access to amenities that attract visitors to our community."

The Basic Access Index is a 13-item measure of American's access to basic necessities in the cities or areas where they live. The index measures satisfaction with city or area as place to live, city or area getting better, access to clean and safe water, access to affordable fresh fruits and vegetables, access to medicine, access to a safe place to exercise, feeling safe walking alone at night, money for food and shelter, money for health care/medicine, visited a dentist in past year, have a personal doctor and have health insurance.