If you’re gearing up for a move, keep wellness in mind.
Health has rarely been so constantly front of mind as it has over the last couple of years. From monitoring every cough and sniffle with unprecedented fervor to anxiously clocking up as many steps as possible, it sometimes feels as though we’re engaged in a never-ending battle to maintain optimal wellness.
The thing is, so much of what affects our health is out of our hands — or at least, far more complicated than our frenetic sleep monitoring and diet worries might suggest. The effects of genetics and income on health outcomes are well-documented, but did you know that where you live can play a pivotal role as well? From the natural environment to the transport system to hospital bed availability, and even less obvious factors like education opportunities, the place we call home has an enormous impact on our overall health.
The interaction between health factors related to where we live is extremely complicated. Access to healthcare might be better in cities than in some rural areas, but proximity to natural water features — like rivers or the sea — is demonstrably beneficial to our wellbeing. On the other hand, an area might boast a strong bedrock of community support, which is shown to alleviate the negative effects of things like discrimination, but be prone to natural disasters like storms or floods that present other serious risks to health.
Every year, U.S. News ranks America’s healthiest communities on a 100-point scoring system. This takes into account categories like the economy, community vitality, infrastructure, and public safety — the results of which are all weighted according to their relative significance for health. Each of these is also broken down into further subcategories — so for example, food is analyzed both according to the quality of food availability, and its nutritional content.
The results highlight just how strong the knock-on effect of our living environment can be on our health — and the wide disparities that can exist in certain areas when it comes to key factors. Falls Church city, Virginia came second overall, with 100 scores on education and population health — but fell behind on housing, on which it scored just 43. Dallas County, Iowa came 20th overall, and scored relatively low on equity with just 45 — but made up for it with strong scores for population health, economy, and community vitality.
Without further ado, here are the 25 healthiest communities in America, according to U.S. News.
1. Los Alamos County, New Mexico
2. Falls Church city, Virginia
3. Douglas County, Colorado
4. Morgan County, Utah
5. Carver County, Minnesota
6. Sioux County, Iowa
7. Ozaukee County, Wisconsin
8. Hamilton County, Indiana
9. Broomfield County, Colorado
10. Delaware County, Ohio
11. Dallas County, Iowa
12. Loudoun County, Virginia
13. Arlington County, Virginia
14. Union County, South Dakota
15. Teton County, Wyoming
16. Morris County, New Jersey
17. Fairfax County, Virginia
18. Howard County, Maryland
19. Williamson County, Tennessee
20. Johnson County, Kansas
21. Lincoln County, South Dakota
22. Waukesha County, Wisconsin
23. Dodge County, Minnesota
24. Hamilton County, Nebraska
25. Washington County, Minnesota
Now you should know where to retire, where you’ll make the most money, and where you’ll be the happiest, and you’re all set!
