Methodology

For the rankings, U.S. News evaluated nearly 3,000 U.S. counties and county equivalents across 92 metrics in 10 health and health-related categories considered to be key factors in community health by the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics:

• Population health, weighted 14.15%
• Equity, weighted 12.23%
• Education, weighted 12.15%
• Economy, weighted 11.08%
• Housing, weighted 9.46%
• Food and nutrition, weighted 8.77%
• Environment, weighted 8.62%
• Public safety, weighted 8.46%
• Community vitality, weighted 7.62%
• Infrastructure, weighted 7.46%

Data was collected from a variety of sources, including CDC, the U.S. Census Bureau, CMS, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Any county-type divisions, called boroughs, municipalities, and census areas in Alaska and parishes in Louisiana were included in the analysis.  Independent cities in Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, and Virginia that are treated as county equivalents by the Census Bureau were also included in the analysis.

Each county was scored on a scale of zero to 100 in each of the 10 categories. To calculate the overall score for each county, researchers then calculated a weighted average of the subcategories, which they then used to identify the 500 healthiest communities. Data collection and analysis was performed by the University of Missouri Extension Center for Applied Research and Engagement Systems and validated by the University of Missouri Institute for Data Science and U.S. News.

The healthiest communities in the US

The top 10 healthiest communities in the United States, according to U.S. News, are:

1.       Falls Church, VA

2.       Los Alamos County, NM

3.       Douglas County, CO

4.       Sioux County, IA

5.       Hamilton County, IN

6.       Dallas County, IA

7.       Ozaukee County, WI

8.       Carver County, MN

9.       Bremer County, IA

10.   Morgan County, UT

According to U.S. News, Falls Church, Virginia ranked among the nation's top 20 communities in half of the 10 categories, including ranking first in education, fourth in population health, sixth in economy, 14th in food and nutrition, and 16th in infrastructure. Falls Church was also ranked as the healthiest community in the United States in the inaugural edition of the rankings in 2018. (Johnson, U.S. News & World Report, 8/6; Healthiest Communities methodology, 8/6; Davis Jr., U.S. News & World Report, 8/6)

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