You probably know US News & World Report for its college or hospital rankings, but on Tuesday, the publication’s listmakers released its 2024 ranking of the nation’s healthiest communities.
The ranking is based on an evaluation of about 2,800 communities, and looks at how counties and county equivalents perform across 92 metrics such as income, hospital beds, primary care availability, average educational attainment, and the prevalence and mortality rates of various diseases. These categories are largely based on factors deemed important to evaluating community health by the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics.
The top 500 counties were ranked and organized into 10 categories: community vitality, economy, education, environment, equity, food and nutrition, population health, housing, infrastructure, and public safety.
“Evaluating community health is crucial as we consider the well-being of citizens across our country,” Julia Haines, US News data editor, said in a press release. “The Healthiest Communities rankings examine which communities offer the greatest opportunity to live a healthy, productive life. They also highlight that even the ‘healthiest’ communities struggle in certain areas.”
The big winner. All 14,658 residents of Falls Church, Virginia, will be pleased to know that they’re No. 1 for the second time since 2018. The DC suburb was also ranked No. 1 in education, No. 4 in population health, No. 6 in economy, and No. 14 in food and nutrition. However, it didn’t make the top 500 in the equity or housing categories.
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The rankings may also make you consider moving to Iowa. With three communities in the top 10, it has some standouts. Alongside Rhode Island and New Hampshire, it had the highest community-level scores of any state, the release said. The lowest average scores came from Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas.
Here are the top 10 communities listed in the report:
2024 healthiest communities:
- Falls Church, Virginia
- Los Alamos County, New Mexico
- Douglas County, Colorado
- Sioux County, Iowa
- Hamilton County, Indiana
- Dallas County, Iowa
- Ozaukee County, Wisconsin
- Carver County, Minnesota
- Bremer County, Iowa
- Morgan County, Utah
US News worked with the University of Missouri Extension Center for Applied Research and Engagement Systems (CARES) to collect and analyze data from sources including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Census Bureau, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the Environmental Protection Agency.
The rankings also feature the best communities by category. A few examples include:
- Suffolk County, Massachusetts: best access to healthcare.
- Adair County, Missouri: best health equity.
- Marin County, California: best health outcomes.
To view the full rankings and search county profiles, visit www.usnews.com/news/healthiest-communities/rankings.