Healthiest States in America

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Healthiest States in America

One of the best metrics of success and happiness in a country is longevity. With life expectancy generally increasing in the world, it is helpful to know what factors contribute to a healthy and long life. The World Health Organization defines health as "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." This definition points us in the right direction towards the pursuit of overall health.

However, being healthy in every part of our lives and finding the resources to help us get there is not an easy task. As living in an environment conducive to better living is needed to produce health, Stacker has ranked the healthiest states in the U.S. using the America's Health Rankings 2017 Annual Report.

States are ranked by five metrics: behaviors, community, environmental policy, clinical care, and health outcomes. Find out if your state is as healthy as you think, and read here for more details about its current health condition.

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#50. Mississippi

Score above/below the national norm: -1.04
Behaviors rank: #49
Community & environment rank: #44
Policy rank: #47
Clinical care rank: #50
Health outcomes rank: #48

#49. Louisiana

Score above/below the national norm: -0.91
Behaviors rank: #50
Community & environment rank: #50
Policy rank: #38
Clinical care rank: #49
Health outcomes rank: #43

#48. Arkansas

Score above/below the national norm: -0.77
Behaviors rank: #45
Community & environment rank: #42
Policy rank: #27
Clinical care rank: #48
Health outcomes rank: #47

#47. Alabama

Score above/below the national norm: -0.76
Behaviors rank: #38
Community & environment rank: #48
Policy rank: #23
Clinical care rank: #47
Health outcomes rank: #49

#46. West Virginia

Score above/below the national norm: -0.70
Behaviors rank: #48
Community & environment rank: #36
Policy rank: #12
Clinical care rank: #44
Health outcomes rank: #50

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#45. Tennessee

Score above/below the national norm: -0.64
Behaviors rank: #43
Community & environment rank: #40
Policy rank: #35
Clinical care rank: #45
Health outcomes rank: #44

#44. South Carolina

Score above/below the national norm: -0.61
Behaviors rank: #42
Community & environment rank: #46
Policy rank: #44
Clinical care rank: #46
Health outcomes rank: #42

#43. Oklahoma

Score above/below the national norm: -0.59
Behaviors rank: #37
Community & environment rank: #41
Policy rank: #49
Clinical care rank: #43
Health outcomes rank: #45

#42. Kentucky

Score above/below the national norm: -0.51
Behaviors rank: #47
Community & environment rank: #26
Policy rank: #16
Clinical care rank: #39
Health outcomes rank: #46

#41. Georgia

Score above/below the national norm: -0.43
Behaviors rank: #35
Community & environment rank: #39
Policy rank: #33
Clinical care rank: #42
Health outcomes rank: #37

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#40. Missouri

Score above/below the national norm: -0.42
Behaviors rank: #39
Community & environment rank: #35
Policy rank: #42
Clinical care rank: #41
Health outcomes rank: #40

#39. Ohio

Score above/below the national norm: -0.41
Behaviors rank: #46
Community & environment rank: #33
Policy rank: #24
Clinical care rank: #40
Health outcomes rank: #39

#38. Indiana

Score above/below the national norm: -0.36
Behaviors rank: #40
Community & environment rank: #27
Policy rank: #32
Clinical care rank: #37
Health outcomes rank: #41

#37. Nevada

Score above/below the national norm: -0.29
Behaviors rank: #32
Community & environment rank: #32
Policy rank: #43
Clinical care rank: #35
Health outcomes rank: #35

#36. New Mexico

Score above/below the national norm: -0.25
Behaviors rank: #36
Community & environment rank: #47
Policy rank: #31
Clinical care rank: #36
Health outcomes rank: #32

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#35. Michigan

Score above/below the national norm: -0.21
Behaviors rank: #44
Community & environment rank: #29
Policy rank: #18
Clinical care rank: #30
Health outcomes rank: #38

#34. Texas

Score above/below the national norm: -0.19
Behaviors rank: #15
Community & environment rank: #37
Policy rank: #50
Clinical care rank: #38
Health outcomes rank: #27

#33. North Carolina

Score above/below the national norm: -0.18
Behaviors rank: #26
Community & environment rank: #31
Policy rank: #30
Clinical care rank: #31
Health outcomes rank: #36

#32. Florida

Score above/below the national norm: -0.15
Behaviors rank: #28
Community & environment rank: #28
Policy rank: #46
Clinical care rank: #32
Health outcomes rank: #30

#31. Arizona

Score above/below the national norm: -0.11
Behaviors rank: #25
Community & environment rank: #45
Policy rank: #40
Clinical care rank: #33
Health outcomes rank: #25

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#30. Delaware

Score above/below the national norm: -0.10
Behaviors rank: #30
Community & environment rank: #34
Policy rank: #5
Clinical care rank: #28
Health outcomes rank: #34

#29. Alaska

Score above/below the national norm: -0.07
Behaviors rank: #40
Community & environment rank: #49
Policy rank: #45
Clinical care rank: #34
Health outcomes rank: #13

#28. Pennsylvania

Score above/below the national norm: 0.01
Behaviors rank: #31
Community & environment rank: #30
Policy rank: #13
Clinical care rank: #24
Health outcomes rank: #31

#27. Illinois

Score above/below the national norm: 0.03
Behaviors rank: #23
Community & environment rank: #38
Policy rank: #21
Clinical care rank: #27
Health outcomes rank: #28

#26. Wyoming

Score above/below the national norm: 0.07
Behaviors rank: #34
Community & environment rank: #7
Policy rank: #48
Clinical care rank: #29
Health outcomes rank: #19

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#25. Kansas

Score above/below the national norm: 0.12
Behaviors rank: #22
Community & environment rank: #24
Policy rank: #28
Clinical care rank: #25
Health outcomes rank: #22

#24. South Dakota

Score above/below the national norm: 0.20
Behaviors rank: #21
Community & environment rank: #25
Policy rank: #37
Clinical care rank: #26
Health outcomes rank: #6

#23. Maine

Score above/below the national norm: 0.21
Behaviors rank: #29
Community & environment rank: #8
Policy rank: #22
Clinical care rank: #15
Health outcomes rank: #33

#22. Montana

Score above/below the national norm: 0.23
Behaviors rank: #16
Community & environment rank: #23
Policy rank: #41
Clinical care rank: #23
Health outcomes rank: #12

#21. Wisconsin

Score above/below the national norm: 0.27
Behaviors rank: #23
Community & environment rank: #21
Policy rank: #9
Clinical care rank: #21
Health outcomes rank: #21

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#20. Oregon

Score above/below the national norm: 0.30
Behaviors rank: #27
Community & environment rank: #16
Policy rank: #34
Clinical care rank: #17
Health outcomes rank: #24

#19. Virginia

Score above/below the national norm: 0.30
Behaviors rank: #8
Community & environment rank: #6
Policy rank: #39
Clinical care rank: #19
Health outcomes rank: #23

#18. North Dakota

Score above/below the national norm: 0.33
Behaviors rank: #33
Community & environment rank: #14
Policy rank: #14
Clinical care rank: #22
Health outcomes rank: #5

#17. California

Score above/below the national norm: 0.35
Behaviors rank: #2
Community & environment rank: #43
Policy rank: #29
Clinical care rank: #18
Health outcomes rank: #15

#16. Maryland

Score above/below the national norm: 0.36
Behaviors rank: #7
Community & environment rank: #22
Policy rank: #17
Clinical care rank: #13
Health outcomes rank: #26

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#15. Iowa

Score above/below the national norm: 0.38
Behaviors rank: #18
Community & environment rank: #17
Policy rank: #11
Clinical care rank: #20
Health outcomes rank: #7

#14. Idaho

Score above/below the national norm: 0.38
Behaviors rank: #11
Community & environment rank: #11
Policy rank: #25
Clinical care rank: #14
Health outcomes rank: #17

#13. Nebraska

Score above/below the national norm: 0.40
Behaviors rank: #19
Community & environment rank: #18
Policy rank: #19
Clinical care rank: #16
Health outcomes rank: #8

#12. New Jersey

Score above/below the national norm: 0.47
Behaviors rank: #6
Community & environment rank: #12
Policy rank: #26
Clinical care rank: #12
Health outcomes rank: #18

#11. Rhode Island

Score above/below the national norm: 0.47
Behaviors rank: #17
Community & environment rank: #13
Policy rank: #3
Clinical care rank: #7
Health outcomes rank: #29

#10. New York

Score above/below the national norm: 0.51
Behaviors rank: #13
Community & environment rank: #18
Policy rank: #8
Clinical care rank: #10
Health outcomes rank: #16

#9. Washington

Score above/below the national norm: 0.52
Behaviors rank: #12
Community & environment rank: #20
Policy rank: #15
Clinical care rank: #11
Health outcomes rank: #11

#8. New Hampshire

Score above/below the national norm: 0.62
Behaviors rank: #20
Community & environment rank: #1
Policy rank: #7
Clinical care rank: #5
Health outcomes rank: #20

#7. Colorado

Score above/below the national norm: 0.62
Behaviors rank: #9
Community & environment rank: #5
Policy rank: #20
Clinical care rank: #9
Health outcomes rank: #3

#6. Minnesota

Score above/below the national norm: 0.68
Behaviors rank: #14
Community & environment rank: #10
Policy rank: #10
Clinical care rank: #8
Health outcomes rank: #1

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#5. Connecticut

Score above/below the national norm: 0.70
Behaviors rank: #4
Community & environment rank: #15
Policy rank: #6
Clinical care rank: #4
Health outcomes rank: #10

#4. Utah

Score above/below the national norm: 0.73
Behaviors rank: #1
Community & environment rank: #9
Policy rank: #35
Clinical care rank: #6
Health outcomes rank: #2

#3. Vermont

Score above/below the national norm: 0.79
Behaviors rank: #10
Community & environment rank: #2
Policy rank: #2
Clinical care rank: #2
Health outcomes rank: #14

#2. Hawaii

Score above/below the national norm: 0.85
Behaviors rank: #5
Community & environment rank: #4
Policy rank: #4
Clinical care rank: #3
Health outcomes rank: #4

#1. Massachusetts

Score above/below the national norm: 0.92
Behaviors rank: #3
Community & environment rank: #3
Policy rank: #1
Clinical care rank: #1
Health outcomes rank: #9

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