Montgomery County placed 55th in a newly published ranking of the top 500 healthiest communities in the country. The “Healthiest Communities Rankings 2022”, created by U.S. News, score nearly 3,000 counties on 89 indicators across 10 categories that drive overall community health. The list includes counties, county-type divisions called boroughs, municipalities, census areas, and independent cities in Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, and Virginia that are treated as county equivalents by the Census Bureau. The ten categories along with how they’re weighted are Population Health (14.2%), Equity (12.23%), Education (12.15%), Economy (11.1%), Housing (9.5%), Food & Nutrition (8.8%), Environment (8.6%), Public Safety (8.5%), Community Vitality (7.6%), and Infrastructure (7.5%).
The ranking is guided by a pioneering framework developed by a committee appointed to advise the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. To gather the data, U.S. News collaborated with the University of Missouri Extension Center for Applied Research and Engagement Systems and used validated sources including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Census Bureau, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The top 5 communities are:
- Los Alamos County, New Mexico
- Falls Church city, Virginia
- Douglas County, Colorado
- Morgan County, Utah
- Carver County, Minnesota
For more information and to see the full list, click here.
