U.S. News & World Report just released its fifth annual report highlighting the 500 healthiest communities in the United States, and 10 New Jersey counties made the list. The study, done in collaboration with CVS Health, was released Wednesday and shows that when it comes to health and well-being, the Garden State is doing great!
These are the NJ counties that made the list along with their rankings:
- Morris County, 16th
- Hunterdon County, 27th
- Somerset County, 67th
- Bergen County, 75th
- Sussex County, 228th
- Burlington County, 250th
- Monmouth County, 256th
- Warren County, 330th
- Middlesex County, 337th
- Gloucester County, 408th
U.S. News looked at how nearly 3,000 counties in the United States performed in 89 metrics across 10 health-related categories. Some of the categories the study looked at include access to healthcare, educational equity, food availability, nutrition and community stability. This year, an environmental category was added to look at how air and water quality and natural hazards affect our communities.
Data was collected to determine the rankings from organizations including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Census Bureau, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
So which communities made the top of the list? While there were none from NJ in the top 10, it’s interesting to see which ones fared best.
- Los Alamos County, New Mexico
- Falls Church, Virginia
- Douglas County, Colorado
- Morgan County, Utah
- Carver County, Minnesota
- Sioux County, Iowa
- Ozaukee County, Wisconsin
- Hamilton County, Indiana
- Broomfield County, Colorado
- Delaware County, Ohio
It’s not surprising that so many of our NJ counties made the healthiest list as NJ has strengths in healthcare, education, availability of fresh food and a focus on preserving our beautiful environment on the local and state levels.
Click here to see the full rankings.
Check out these great tips to keep your kids healthy all summer!
