Though there is no way to guarantee a long and healthy life, exercising, making regular doctor visits, eating a healthy diet, and abstaining from bad habits like smoking, drug use, and excessive drinking can certainly improve the odds. While this should not come as news to anyone, there are parts of the country where such behaviors are far more common than in others and many of these places also have better health outcomes. .
24/7 Tempo created a weighted index of 35 measures of health outcomes and health factors, including behaviors and access to care, and ranked 381 U.S. metropolitan areas based on the index to identify the healthiest city in every state. Index measures include smoking rates, adult obesity rates, premature death rates, shares of adults who exercise regularly, and health insurance coverage. All health data came from County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, a joint program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.
Because the index is based largely on measures of behaviors and health outcomes, residents of the cities on this list tend to have healthy habits and a reduced likelihood of poor health. However, the cities on this list are also similar in some other, perhaps less obvious, ways.
For one, the cities on this list tend to be relatively wealthy places — at least compared to other cities in their respective states. In the vast majority of the healthiest cities by state, the median household income is higher than the median household incomes across the state as a whole. This is likely not a coincidence. Higher-income Americans tend to have better access to health care and can afford healthier options related to diet and lifestyle. Here is the richest city in each state.
It is important to note that appearing on this list does not necessarily mean a particular city is healthy compared to the country as a whole. Many states have relatively large populations that engage in unhealthy behaviors that tend to increase the likelihood of premature death. Even in the healthiest cities in many of these states, adults are less likely to live long, healthy lives than the typical American. Here is a list of the healthiest states in America.
Click here to see the healthiest city in every state
Click here to read our methodology
Discussion about this post