Colorado Has 4 of Top 10 Healthiest Counties: US News Report

ACROSS COLORADO -- Four Colorado communities ranked among the Top 10 healthiest in the United States, 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 3,000 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, urban up-and-coming, rural high-performing and rural up-and-coming.

“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.”

The top 10 healthiest communities of the 500 healthiest 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

Douglas County was rated the healthiest community in Colorado. Metrics measured included a low percentage (9.9 percent) of adults who reported no leisure time physical activity. The national average is 24.5 percent. Douglas County residents also reported low adult smoking rates (10.3 percent vs. 17.9 percent nationwide). Average life expectancy in Douglas County is 83.7 years, compared to 77.9 years in the U.S. and 80 years in the state of Colorado.

A total of 29 Colorado counties made the top 500 healthiest places in the U.S. and of the, 15 were in the top 100:

• Grand County, Colorado (17)
• Chaffee County, Colorado (24)
• Summit County, Colorado (26)
• Clear Creek County, Colorado (33)
• Boulder County, Colorado (36)
• Pitkin County, Colorado (38)
• Teller County, Colorado (40)
• Gunnison County, Colorado (56)
• Park County, Colorado (58)
• Jefferson County, Colorado (63)
• La Plata County, Colorado (70)
• Elbert County, Colorado (72)
• Larimer County, Colorado (74)
• San Miguel County, Colorado (84)
• Eagle County, Colorado (98)

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.

By Feroze Dhanoa, Patch National Staff

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