A new study shows that New Jersey is one of the country’s best states for children’s health care. WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 33 key metrics, focusing on cost, quality, and access to health care. The data ranges from the number of kids from birth to age 17 who reported being in excellent or very good health, to pediatricians and family doctors per capita.
The ranking goes from 1 for best to 25 for average. New Jersey’s overall ranking is 63.15, compared to No. 1 Massachusetts with 67.31.
New Jersey has a high number of children’s hospitals per capita and one of the lowest costs of doctors’ visits in the country, according to the study. NJ also has the sixth-lowest percentage of children who report eating vegetables less than once per day. The state also has the third-lowest rate of students drinking soda every day. And New Jersey has the third-lowest share of children who are overweight in the country, the study shows.
In addition, New Jersey has one of the lowest infant mortality rates in the nation, and the lowest death rate for kids under the age of 14, the study shows.
New Jersey’s ranking for children’s health care:
3rd: Overall rank
3rd: Kids’ nutrition
3rd: Physical activity
3rd: Percentage of overweight children
3rd: Infant death rate
4th: Access to health care
9th: Percentage of kids with very good or excellent teeth
17th: Pediatricians and family doctors per capita
20th: Percentage of uninsured children
22nd: Percentage of kids in very good or excellent health
27th: Percentage of obese kids
51st: Overall oral health
The Top 10 Best States for Children’s Health, according to WalletHub:
- Massachusetts
- Rhode Island
- New Jersey
- Pennsylvania
- Vermont
- District of Columbia
- Hawaii
- New York
- Connecticut
- California
The data for the report were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Council for Community and Economic Research and others.
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