Virginia Communities Ranked Among Healthiest In New Study

34 Virginia communities ranked among the healthiest in the United States led by Falls Church at number one, according to rankings 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 3000 communities across 10 categories to determine the rankings. In addition to the overall rankings, U.S. News also ranked communities across four groups: urban high-performing, rural high-performing, urban up-and-coming, and rural up-and-coming. Virginia communities also ranked in these categories.

“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.” (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here.)

Here’s the Virginia communities that ranked among the 500 healthiest in the U.S.:

• Falls Church City (1)
• Fairfax City (6)
• Loudoun County (10)
• Fairfax County (21)
• Poquoson City, Virginia (27)
• Arlington County (31)
• Hanover County, Virginia (52)
• Powhatan County, Virginia (95)
• Chesterfield County, Virginia (96)
• Roanoke County, Virginia (99)
• Albemarle County, Virginia (110)
• York County, Virginia (112)
• Stafford County (115)
• Rappahannock County, Virginia (119)
• Fauquier County, Virginia (129)
• Botetourt County, Virginia (136)
• New Kent County, Virginia (142)
• Alexandria City (151)
• Goochland County, Virginia (165)
• King George County, Virginia (191)
• Prince William County, Virginia (208)
• Salem City, Virginia (237)
• James City County, Virginia (238)
• Montgomery County, Virginia (285)
• Bedford County, Virginia (300)
• Frederick County, Virginia (315)
• Fluvanna County, Virginia (320)
• Henrico County, Virginia (324)
• Greene County, Virginia (340)
• Gloucester County, Virginia (390)
• Augusta County, Virginia (413)
• Clarke County, Virginia (444)
• Spotsylvania County, Virginia (464)
• Rockingham County, Virginia (497)

Here are the Virginia communities that were ranked in the rural high-performing category:

• King George County, Virginia (50)

Here are the Virginia communities that were ranked in the rural up-and-coming category:

• Lexington City, Virginia (10)
• Grayson County, Virginia (78)
• Smyth County, Virginia (87)
• Covington City, Virginia (94)

Here are the Virginia communities that were ranked in the urban high-performing category:

• Falls Church City (1)
• Fairfax City (6)
• Loudoun County (8)
• Fairfax County (16)
• Poquoson City, Virginia (19)
• Arlington County (23)
• Hanover County, Virginia (40)
• Powhatan County, Virginia (72)
• Chesterfield County, Virginia (73)
• Roanoke County, Virginia (76)
• Albemarle County, Virginia(83)
• York County, Virginia (84)
• Stafford County, Virginia (86)
• Rappahannock County, Virginia (89)
• Fauquier County, Virginia (95)

Here are the Virginia communities that were ranked in the urban up-and-coming category:

• Montgomery County, Virginia (3)
• Floyd County, Virginia (17)
• Washington County, Virginia (38)
• Amherst County, Virginia (46)
• Colonial Heights City, Virginia (53)
• Williamsburg City, Virginia (62)
• Franklin County, Virginia (63)
• Appomattox County, Virginia (64)
• Staunton City, Virginia (70)
• Nelson County, Virginia (80)

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

The rankings were compiled by evaluating how communities performed across 80 metrics in 10 categories: population health, equity, education, economy, housing, food and nutrition, environment, public safety, community vitality and infrastructure. U.S. News collaborated with the University of Missouri Center for Applied Research and Engagement Systems (CARES) to collect and analyze data. The data was collected from government and private sources. (Read the full methodology here)

You can see the full rankings here.

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