'Healthiest Communities' Study Includes 3 PA Counties In Top 100

PENNSYLVANIA —A new list of the healthiest communities in the United States has three Pennsylvania counties among the top 100 places to live.

The study, published by MarketWatch, uses 14 metrics as indicators of county health — including data on food insecurity, healthcare access, life expectancy, health insurance coverage, and water and air quality. MarketWatch ranked 576 U.S. counties by giving each a rating out of 100, based on their performance across those metrics.

Overall, the study authors found that the healthiest counties are generally richer areas, with lower rates of food insecurity and more people having reliable, affordable access to health insurance coverage.

Residents in the unhealthiest counties have fewer grocery stores accessible and are more likely to experience food insecurity, while also having more limited access to primary care, the study authors said.

"Many of the top healthiest counties have nature parks, backing up scientific studies that suggest the positive effects green space and exercise opportunities have on our health," MarketWatch wrote. "The healthiest counties are also full of high-income earners."

Based on their analysis, Marin County, California was the healthiest county with a life expectancy of 85, a lower-than-average adult obesity rate, and only 5 percent of people without insurance.

Harris County, Texas was listed as the unhealthiest county in the analysis: More than 20 percent of the population there is uninsured, and because the county "has the most toxic chemical releases and the sixth-worst median air quality of any county in the U.S.," authors said.

Not all Keystone State counties are on the list — and in total, the U.S. has more than 3,000 counties.

Here is the full list of how Pennsylvania ranked among 576 counties, in the study of healthiest and unhealthiest in the U.S., as well as each county's score out of 100:

• No. 57: Montgomery County
• No. 84: Centre County
• No. 98: Cumberland County
• No. 106: Delaware County
• No. 138: Bucks County
• No. 146: Lackawanna County
• No. 148: Chester County
• No. 173: Northampton County
• No. 203: York County
• No. 207: Erie County
• No. 215: Westmoreland County
• No. 218: Allegheny County (81.5)
• No. 244: Cambria County (80.5)
• No. 251: Dauphin County (80.2)
• No. 252: Franklin County (80.2)
• No. 269: Lehigh County (79.7)
• No. 279: Blair County (79.6)
• No. 281: Lycoming County (79.5)
• No. 282: Mercer County (79.5)
• No. 286: Adams County (79.3)
• No. 290: Washington County (79.1)
• No. 293: Berks County (79.0)
• No. 315: Armstrong County (78.3)
• No. 325: Lebanon County (77.7)
• No. 343: Philadelphia County (77.1)
• No. 347: Indiana County (76.9)
• No. 348: Somerset County (76.9)
• No. 359: Lancaster County (76.6)
• No. 390: Monroe County (75.8)
• No. 425: Beaver County (74.6)
• No. 427: Lawrence County (74.6)
• No. 450: Fayette County (73.4)

The full study is available here.