7 Pennsylvania Communities Rank Among Healthiest In U.S.

Seven Pennsylvania communities 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.

“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 Pennsylvania communities that ranked among the 500 healthiest in the U.S.:

• Chester County (81)
• Montgomery County (85)
• Bucks County (123)
• Cumberland County (157)
• Butler County (210)
• Centre County (415)
• Delaware County (447)

According to U.S. News & World Report, Chester County is the state's healthiest community. Chester county earned a 70.5 for population health, just a 28.7 score for equity, an 82.1 score for education and an 88.3 for economy. To see how Pennsylvania communities that made the list did in all the categories, click here to see the full rankings.

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

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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