U.S. News and Aetna Foundation Release Inaugural Healthiest Communities Rankings

WASHINGTON, March 26, 2018

"For nearly thirty years, U.S. News has evaluated hospitals, colleges and other sectors for the benefit of consumers, recognizing the importance of access to trusted, in-depth information," said Eric Gertler, chairman of U.S. News. "Healthiest communities is an extension of that effort, giving citizens, community leaders and policy-makers the tools to assess health in their communities and develop a blueprint for positive change."

In addition to an overall ranking of the top 500 communities, four peer groupings were developed based on counties' urban-rural status as tied to population density and the robustness of their economies. The peer groups assure fair comparisons between communities and are categorized by: urban high-performing, urban up-and-coming, rural high-performing and rural up-and-coming. An Honor Roll was also developed that highlights 36 top-performing communities in each peer group from the nine U.S. Census regions.

"Research has shown that in the United States, your ZIP code is a greater predictor of your life expectancy than your genetic code. In other words, where you live has a significant impact on your overall health," said Mark T. Bertolini, chairman of the Aetna Foundation and chairman and CEO of Aetna. "Our work with U.S. News will provide communities with data that can help them better understand opportunities for improvement, as well as inspire ideas for change by showcasing the best practices of communities across the country."

Key Findings in the 2018 Healthiest Communities rankings:

• The top five Healthiest Communities all score above the national average in at least nine of the 10 categories evaluated. Falls Church city, Virginia, is No. 1, ranking in the top three communities nationally for education, economy and public safety.  
  
  
• Douglas County and Broomfield County, Colorado, follow at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. Los Alamos County, New Mexico, places fourth, while Dukes County, Massachusetts, rounds out the top five.
  
  
• Virginia and Colorado communities dominate the top 10. Among the top 10: Falls Church city (1), Fairfax city (6), and Loudoun County (10), Virginia; Douglas County (2), Broomfield County (3), Routt County (8) and Ouray County (9), Colorado. Together, communities in the two states boast an average of 62 primary care doctors for every 100 people and an average life expectancy that is more than a year longer than the national average.
  
  
• Peer Groups: The top 100 communities in each peer group range from Keweenaw County, Michigan – a county with a total population of just over 2,000 – to Middlesex County, Massachusetts, which is home to more than 1.5 million people. Rural counties stand out in the community vitality category that includes measures such as voter participation and homeownership rates, while up-and-coming economies perform strongly in the food and nutrition category, which includes access to large supermarkets and fewer cases of obesity and diabetes.
  
  
• Across all four peer groups, top counties rank well in the population health category, which looks at access to care, mental health, health behaviors such as preventative care visits and tobacco use, prevalence of health conditions such as cancer and heart disease among Medicare beneficiaries, and health outcomes including life expectancy and teen birth rates.
  
  
• Honor Roll: When organized by region, a number of communities that may not be at the top on a national stage stand out among their regional peers. Communities that are highlighted on the 2018 Healthiest Communities Honor Roll that did not rank in the top 500 include Lexington city, Virginia; Orleans County, Vermont; and Pickett County, Tennessee.

The Aetna Foundation – which has helped improve community health for more than 40 years – currently supports hundreds of programs across the country that address the social determinants of health. Using data from the Healthiest Communities rankings, the Foundation will continue to make targeted investments in locally-based programs and cross-sector partnerships that will accelerate progress towards building healthy communities across the country.