5 Connecticut Communities Among Healthiest In U.S.

Five Connecticut communities ranked among the healthiest in the United States, according to rankings released by U.S. News & World Report this week. The rankings, compiled in collaboration with the Aetna Foundation, present a list of the 500 healthiest American communities.

U.S. News evaluated 3,000 communities across 10 categories to determine the rankings. In addition to the overall rankings, U.S. News also ranked communities across four groups: urban high-performing, urban up-and-coming, rural high-performing and rural up-and-coming.

“Research has shown that in the United States, your ZIP code is a greater predictor of your life expectancy than your genetic code,” Mark T. Bertolini, chairman of the Aetna Foundation and chairman and CEO of Aetna, said in a press release. “In other words, where you live has a significant impact on your overall health.”

Here’s the Connecticut communities that ranked among the 500 healthiest in the U.S.:

• Tolland County (44)
• Middlesex County (46)
• Litchfield County (54)
• Fairfield County (351)
• New London County (411)

Tolland County

The life expectancy in Tolland County is 81.6, 12.5 percent of residents smoke and 4.6 percent of residents don't have health insurance.

Middlesex County

The life expectancy in Middlesex County is 81, 12.4 percent of residents smoke and 5.6 percent of residents don't have health insurance.

Litchfield County

The life expectancy in Litchfield County is 80.7, 12.6 percent of residents smoke and 6.6 percent of residents don't have health insurance.

Fairfield County

The life expectancy in Fairfield County is 81.8, 12.2 percent of residents smoke and 10.8 percent of residents don't have health insurance.

New London County

The life expectancy in New London County is 80.2, 13.7 percent of residents smoke and 6.1 percent of residents don't have health insurance.

Hartford County

The life expectancy in Hartford County is 80.1, 13.8 percent of residents smoke and 6.9 percent of residents don't have health insurance.

Windham County

The life expectancy in Windham County is 79 percent, 16.9 percent of residents smoke and 7 percent of residents don't have health insurance.

The top 10 healthiest communities in the U.S. are:

1. Falls Church City, Virginia
2. Douglas County, Colorado
3. Broomfield County, Colorado
4. Los Alamos County, New Mexico
5. Dukes County, Massachusetts
6. Fairfax City, Virginia
7. Hamilton County, Indiana
8. Routt County, Colorado
9. Ouray County, Colorado
10. Loudoun County, Virginia

The rankings were compiled by evaluating how communities performed across 80 metrics in 10 categories: population health, equity, education, economy, housing, food and nutrition, environment, public safety, community vitality and infrastructure. U.S. News collaborated with the University of Missouri Center for Applied Research and Engagement Systems (CARES) to collect and analyze data. The data was collected from government and private sources. (Read the full methodology here)

You can see the full rankings here. Image via Shutterstock