Rockingham Named Second Healthiest County in NH

Rockingham County is the second-healthiest county in the Granite State, behind only Merrimack County, according to a recent study of counties across the country.

Rockingham had been ranked as the healthiest county in the state in 2011.

Researchers with the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation used several measures to assess the level of overall health by county: the rate of people dying before age 75, the percent of people who report being in fair or poor health, the numbers of days people report being in poor physical and mental health, and the rate of low birthweight infants.

The rankings also consider factors that affect people's health within four categories: health behavior, clinical care, social and economic factors and physical environment. Among the health factors they look at are rates of adult smoking, adult obesity, excessive drinking, teenage births, availability of primary care physicians, rates of high school graduation, children in poverty, rates of physical inactivity, and air pollution levels.

To view the snapshot of Rockingham County and see how it stacks up against other areas of the state in various categories, click here.