36 Minnesota Communities Among Healthiest In U.S.

CARVER COUNTY, MN — Thirty-six Minnesota 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.

U.S. News evaluated 3000 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 are the Minnesota communities that ranked among the 500 healthiest in the U.S.:

• Carver County, Minnesota (13 overall)
• Washington County (15)
• Scott County (37)
• Dakota County (64)
• Dodge County (79)
• Wright County (89)
• Cook County (100)
• Olmsted County (109)
• Douglas County (150)
• Sherburne County (201)
• Anoka County (202)
• Wabasha County (206)
• Chisago County (207)
• Lake County (228)
• Brown County (232)
• Goodhue County (249)
• Rock County (252)
• Houston County (258)
• Nicollet County (290)
• Steele County (296)
• Le Sueur County (316)
• Isanti County (322)
• Faribault County (337)
• Lincoln County (344)
• McLeod County (350)
• Chippewa County (378)
• Clay County (388)
• Winona County (393)
• Sibley County (394)
• Watonwan County (408)
• Fillmore County (429)
• Pope County (437)
• Grant County (446)
• Yellow Medicine County (457)
• Hennepin County (460)
• Stevens County (480)

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

• Big Stone County (8)
• Itasca County (24)
• Cottonwood County (50)
• Wadena County (60)
• Cass County (72)

Here are the Minnesota communities ranked in the rural high-performing category:

• Cook County (24)
• Lake County (64)
• Rock County (72)
• Faribault County (99)

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

• Carver County (11)
• Washington County (12)
• Scott County (29)
• Dakota County (50)
• Dodge County (60)
• Wright County (68)
• Olmested County (82)

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

• Sibley County (7)
• Fillmore County (12)
• Crow Wing County (30)
• Carlton County (36)
• St. Louis County (45)

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 Minnesota Department of Transportation