PROVIDENCE – Four of Rhode Island’s five counties landed in the top 250 of U.S. News & World Report’s 2021 Healthiest Communities rankings released on Tuesday.
Rhode Island counties had the best average score overall of any state in the report, as well as the highest share of counties in the top 500.
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The rankings, based on a survey of 3,000 communities nationwide, were conducted in collaboration with the Aetna Foundation, and measure 84 metrics across 10 health-related categories, including population health, equity, education, economy, housing, food and nutrition, environment, public safety, community vitality and infrastructure.
Two Rhode Island counties ranked in the top 100, including Bristol County, ranked highest in the state at No. 76, and Washington County at No. 90. Newport County ranked No. 203 this year and Kent County ranked No. 211.
Providence County did not make the top 500 this year, nor did Bristol County, Mass.
Despite ranking highly, the report noted that Kent County was one of three counties in the top 250 this year that had a, “mental health score less than 50, with each posting relatively low scores for housing affordability, food availability and natural environment,” along with Barnstable County, Mass., and Hancock County, Ind.
Los Alamos County, N.M., ranked No. 1 overall this year, followed by Douglas County, Colo.
“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.”
View the full report online.
