Worcester is Not Very Good at Keeping New Year’s Resolutions

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Wednesday, January 04, 2017

GoLocalWorcester Lifestyle Team

When it comes to keeping New Year’s resolutions, Worcester is one of the worst cities in the country. 

Worcester is ranked 114th out of 150 cities when it comes to following through on New Year’s resolutions, according to a study done by WalletHub.  

“It’s easy to make New Year’s resolutions. The hard part is keeping them. In U.S. News & World Report, clinical psychologist Joseph J. Luciani explains why 80 percent of us will fail to achieve our New Year’s goals by week two of February:

The solutions we prescribe to ourselves won’t work, Luciani argues, unless we can back them up with the “capacity to either sustain motivation or handle the inevitable stress and discomfort involved in change,” said WalletHub. 

Worcester is ranked 68th in weight loss and fitness resolutions, 87th in financial resolutions, 126th in education and employment resolutions, and 131st in bad habit resolutions. 

The Rankings 

Providence is ranked 1114th behind Port St. Lucie, Florida and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, while ranking ahead of Ontario, California and Akron, Ohio. 

Salt Lake City, Utah is ranked as the best city for keeping New Year’s resolutions, while Detroit, Michigan is ranked as the worst city. 

See the Rankings in the Map Below. 

The Method 

WalletHub’s analysts compared the 150 most populated U.S. cities across five dimensions: 1) Weight Loss & Fitness Resolutions, 2) Financial Resolutions, 3) Education & Employment Resolutions, 4) Bad-Habit Resolutions and 5) Relationships & Family Resolutions.

They then evaluated those dimensions using 48 relevant metrics. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with 100 representing the most favorable conditions for achieving one’s New Year’s goals. 

Finally, WalletHub calculated the overall score for each city using its weighted average across all metrics and used the resulting scores to rank the cities accordingly.

Weight Loss & Fitness Resolutions – Total Points: 20

• Adult Obesity: Double Weight (~4.44 Points)
• Lack of Exercise: Full Weight (~2.22 Points)
• Access to Exercise Opportunities: Full Weight (~2.22 Points)
• Access to Healthy Food Stores: Full Weight (~2.22 Points)
• Inadequate Fruit & Vegetable Consumption: Full* Weight (~2.22 Points)
• Gyms per Capita: Full Weight (~2.22 Points)
• Weight-Loss Centers per Capita: Full Weight (~2.22 Points)
• Average Monthly Fitness-Club Fee: Full Weight (~2.22 Points)

 

Financial Resolutions – Total Points: 20

• Median Annual Income: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)
• Income Growth (2011–2015): Full Weight (~1.43 Points)
• Average Credit Score: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)
• Median Credit-Card Debt per Person as a Share of the Median Earnings: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)
• Debt Delinquency Rate: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)
• Mortgage Debt per Person as a Share of Median Income: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)
• Non-Mortgage Debt per Person as a Share of Median Income: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)
• Debt-to-Income Ratio: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)
• Emergency Savings: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)
• Homeownership Rate: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)
• Rental Affordability: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)
• Housing Affordability: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)
• Poverty Rate: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)
• Credit-Card Comparison: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)

 

Education & Employment Resolutions – Total Points: 20

• Public School System Score: Double Weight (~2.67 Points)
• Average Quality of Universities: Full Weight (~1.33 Points)
• High School Dropout Rate: Full Weight (~1.33 Points)
• Job Opportunities: Full Weight (~1.33 Points)
• Median Annual Income: Full Weight (~1.33 Points)
• Income Growth (2011–2015): Full Weight (~1.33 Points)
• Unemployment Rate: Double Weight (~2.67 Points)
• Underemployment Rate: Double Weight (~2.67 Points)
• Job Security: Full Weight (~1.33 Points)
• Job Satisfaction: Full Weight (~1.33 Points)
• Employment Outlook: Full Weight (~1.33 Points)
• Business Startup-Friendliness: Full Weight (~1.33 Points)

 

Bad-Habit Resolutions – Total Points: 20

• Binge- & Heavy Drinking: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)
• Smoking Rate: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)
• Illicit Drug Use: Full* Weight (~5.00 Points)
• Drug Overdose-Related Deaths: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)

 

Relationships & Family Resolutions – Total Points: 20

• Nightlife Establishments per Capita: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)
• Restaurants per Capita: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)
• Attractions: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)
• Park Playgrounds per Capita: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)
• Parkland Acres per Capita: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)
• Average Wedding Cost as a Share of Median Household Income: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)
• Family-Friendliness: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)
• Fun Opportunities: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)
• Singles-Friendliness: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)
• Sports Fan-Friendliness: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)

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