Montgomery County Ranked 3rd Healthiest County In Pennsylvania: Study

Montgomery County is in elite company.

The county has again been named one of the healthiest counties in all of Pennsylvania, placing third overall in a comprehensive study from researchers at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.

Just like residents of nearby Chester County, which was first on the list, residents of Montgomery County, on average, live healthier, longer lives, have better access to care, and live in better social and economic situations than residents in any other county in Pennsylvania.

Researchers took data from a wide variety of national and local sources and ranked them with statistically-informed weight. Categories were broken down into two headings, health outcomes and health factors, and analyzed health behaviors , social factors, and the extent of the care available locally.

Montgomery County led the state in two major categories: clinical care and social and economic factors. The clinical care category covers the access of residents to care and the quality of care. Social and economic factors, meanwhile, look at income inequality, high school and college graduation rate, and unemployment.

The county ranked much lower in the "Physical Environment" category, coming in at 22nd.

However, for the second year in a row, the county ranked only 36th in the state for "Physical Environment." Among issues were drinking water violations. The study also noted the high percentage of county residents who drive alone on a long commute to work (42 percent). Still Montco beat Chesco in this realm - Chesco was 36th.

Some other interesting tidbits from the study:

• 9 percent of children in Montgomery County live in poverty; a startling number, but low compared to 19 percent in Pennsylvania as a whole
• 24 percent of Montco adults are obese, compared to 29 percent of PA adults
• 95 percent of the population has access to exercise, versus 85 percent statewide
• Drunk driving deaths were more prevalent in Chester County (44 percent of all accident deaths) than in Montco (37 percent)
• The unemployment rate is 4.6 percent, well below PA's average of 5.8

Nearby, Bucks county was ranked 6th in the state, Delaware 35th, and Philadelphia last, in 67th.

Nationwide, researchers found that overdose deaths are continuing to spread at epidemic-like levels, particularly between individuals in the aged 15-44 category. Drug overdoses are the leading cause of death among 25 to 44 year-olds, and are the "clear driver" of the increase in premature deaths in recent years.

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Researchers said that they hoped the data would help improve healthcare policy at the local level.

"The County Health Rankings show us that where people live plays a key role in how long and how well they live," said Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, MD, RWJF president and CEO. "The Rankings allow local leaders to clearly see and prioritize the challenges they face - whether it's rising premature death rates or the growing drug overdose epidemic - so they can bring community leaders and residents together to find solutions."

Learn more about the data sources for this study here.

Image of Pennsylvania premature death rate courtesy Robert Wood Johnson Foundation