Burlington County Ranked Among America's Healthiest Communities

Ten New Jersey communities, including Burlington County, are ranked among the healthiest in the United States, according to an analysis 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 3,000 communities across 10 categories to determine the rankings. The categories include: population health; equity; education; economy; housing; food and nutrition; environment; public safety; community vitality; and infrastructure.

Burlington County was listed as the fifth healthiest community in New Jersey, and 134th out of 500 nationwide. Communities were ranked by county.

"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 communities in New Jersey that were ranked among the 500 healthiest in the U.S.:

• Morris County (29)
• Hunterdon County (34)
• Somerset County (53)
• Sussex County (73)
• Burlington County (134)
• Bergen County (153)
• Monmouth County (245)
• Gloucester County (367)
• Middlesex County (385)
• Warren County (399)

Burlington County scored 64.7 for population health; 62.7 for equity; 74.7 for education; 85.4 for economy; 44.6 for housing; 72.2 for food and nutrition; 45.4 for environment; 66 for public safety; 54.4 for community vitality; and 68.3 for infrastructure.

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

Click here to see the full rankings.

U.S. News collaborated with the University of Missouri Center for Applied Research and Engagement Systems (CARES) to collect and analyze data.

Data was collected from sources such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, the U.S. Census Bureau, the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Read the full methodology here.

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