Somerset Among Top 3 Healthiest Counties In NJ

SOMERSET COUNTY, NJ — It comes as no surprise that Somerset County has been ranked as among the top 3 healthiest counties in New Jersey, according to this year's recently released County Health Rankings and Roadmaps.

Published annually for the last decade, County Health Rankings is a program led by the University of Wisconsin's Population Health Institute seeking to understand what influences how long and how well we live. Read More: See NJ's Healthiest And Least Healthiest Counties For 2022: Report

Somerset County is ranked as the third healthiest county in New Jersey. Overall, Morris County once again ranked number 1 among all counties in the Garden State while Cumberland County ranked as the least healthy.

To see the breakdown of Somerset County's ranking click here.

Here is a look at how Somerset County fared against the other NJ counties:

1. Morris
2. Hunterdon
3. Somerset
4. Bergen
5. Sussex
6. Middlesex
7. Monmouth
8. Union
9. Ocean
10. Hudson
11. Warren
12. Burlington
13. Mercer
14. Gloucester
15. Cape May
16. Passaic
17. Essex
18. Atlantic
19. Camden
20. Salem
21. Cumberland

The rankings look at length and quality of life while taking into account different measures that affect a community's health, including smoking, diet and exercise, alcohol and drug use, and sexual activity. Rates for education, income, and community safety are also incorporated.

Here's a look at the measures used to calculate our county's overall ranking:

Health Outcomes

• Premature death
• Adults reporting fair or poor health
• Physically unhealthy days reported in the past 30 days
• Mentally unhealthy days reported in the past 30 days
• Live births with low birth weight

Health Factors - Health Behaviors

• Adult smokers
• Adult obesity
• Healthy Food Environment Index
• Physical inactivity
• Residents with access to exercise opportunities
• Excessive drinking
• Driving deaths attributed to alcohol impairment
• Sexually transmitted infections
• Teen births

Health Factors - Clinical

• Uninsured residents
• Primary care physicians
• Dentists
• Mental health providers
• Preventable hospital stays
• Mammography screenings
• Flu vaccinations

Health Factors - Social And Economic

• High school completion
• College education
• Unemployment
• Children in poverty
• Income inequality
• Children in single-parent households
• Social associations
• Violent crime
• Injury deaths

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