WilCo Makes Top 100 Healthiest Communities In U.S.

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TX — Williamson County is considered to be one of the healthiest communities to live in the United States, according to a recent Healthiest Communities rankings conducted by U.S. News & World Report.

Williamson ranked at No. 95 for the top 100 healthiest communities to live in the U.S., according to the health ranking report. It was one of three Texas counties to make the list.

The report was conducted in collaboration with the Aetna Foundation for the fourth annual Healthiest Communities rankings.

The Healthiest Communities rankings and accompanying analysis are based on an evaluation of approximately 3,000 communities nationwide across 84 health and health-related metrics in 10 categories, from Education and Population Health to Infrastructure and Environment, officials said.

In the 2021 rankings, the top five Healthiest Communities scored above the national average in at least eight of the 10 categories used in the analysis, including Los Alamos County, New Mexico – the first community to repeat as No. 1 since the launch of the Healthiest Communities rankings in 2018. The county posted its highest scores in the Housing, Population Health and Infrastructure categories.

Douglas County, Colorado, came in at No. 2, followed by Falls Church, Virginia, at No. 3. Loudoun County, Virginia, moved to No. 4, and Broomfield County, Colorado, rounded out the list at No. 5, officials said.

The rankings are based on metrics drawn from sources such as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Much of the data used to compile the 2021 Healthiest Communities rankings came from periods predating the COVID-19 pandemic and would not have been affected by the pandemic’s impact on communities, authorities said.

U.S. News & World Report says the project serves as a tool to inform residents, community health leaders and elected officials about policies and best practices for better health outcomes by assessing which communities offer their citizens the greatest opportunity to live a productive, healthy life.

“The coronavirus pandemic has inflicted deep wounds on multiple aspects of a community’s well-being – from which it will take time to recover. A county’s population health metrics, including mental health, health outcomes and access to care, have been adversely affected, along with major hits to education, economy and equity,” said Kim Castro, editor and chief content officer at U.S. News. “This year’s Healthiest Communities rankings name not only the leading counties in the country, but also produce data reflecting other predictors of individual and community health as the country begins to recover. ”

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