8 Georgia Communities Among Healthiest In U.S.

CUMMING, GA — Eight Georgia communities ranked among the healthiest in the United States, according to rankings released by U.S. News & World Report on Monday. The rankings, compiled in collaboration with the Aetna Foundation, present a list of the 500 healthiest American communities. In the Peach State, Forsyth County was the only area to crack the top 100.

Another set of rankings released March 14 were produced by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. Those rankings showed wealthier suburban counties as Georgia's healthiest. On that list Forsyth was No 1, while the top five are rounded out by Oconee, Cherokee, Fayette, and Gwinnett counties. The next five, rounding out the top ten, are Columbia, Cobb, Harris, Paulding and Coweta.

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. Georgia communities also ranked in the latter three categories.

“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.”

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

• Forsyth County (82)
• Fayette County (120)
• Oconee County (146)
• Columbia County (181)
• Cherokee County (293)
• Cobb County (345)
• Paulding County (424)
• Union County (484)

Here are the Georgia communities that were ranked in the rural up-and-coming category:

• Fannin County (31)
• Towns County (86)
• Rabun County (98)

Here are the Georgia communities that were ranked in the urban high-performing category:

• Fayette County (90)
• Forsyth County (62)

Here are the Georgia communities that were ranked in the urban up-and-coming category:

• Pickens County (35)
• Morgans County (82)

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.

FILE PHOTO: Sheriss Chacon, 7, participates in a kick boxing class with instructor Rafael Cintron (L) at the Eden Roc Renaissance Resort & Spa July 2, 2002 in Miami Beach, Florida. The class is part of the Family Fitness Camp in which families learn how to live a healthier lifestyle. They are taught fitness techniques as well as how to prepare quick, low-fat meals and snacks. (Photo by Joe Raedle/ Getty Images)