These are America’s healthiest communities, U.S. News says

Falls Church, Virginia offers close access to Washington, D.C. and is only about an hour from Shenandoah National Park, and the small city is adding to its bragging rights.

U.S. News & World Report released its rankings of the 2024 Healthiest Communities. Marin County, California, shown above, ranked at the top of one key category: Health outcomes.

The city ranks atop the list of the 2024 Healthiest Communities rankings from U.S. News & World Report. U.S. News unveiled its new list, the sixth installment of its community rankings, on Tuesday morning. (See the full rankings.) The rankings had been released annually from 2018-22, and returned after a one-year break.

Falls Church dislodged Los Alamos County, New Mexico, which had held the top spot for the past three editions of the U.S. News rankings.

The midwest dominated the top 10, with six communities on the list.

U.S. News examines communities across 10 categories, and notes that some areas with high rankings in some measures didn’t fare as well in others. Falls Church fell short of the top performers in equity and housing, according to U.S. News.

Julia Haines, U.S. News data editor, pointed out that even some healthy communities can improve in some areas.

“Evaluating community health is crucial as we consider the well-being of citizens across our country,” Haines said in a statement accompanying the rankings. “The Healthiest Communities rankings examine which communities offer the greatest opportunity to live a healthy, productive life. They also highlight that even the ‘healthiest’ communities struggle in certain areas.”

U.S. News said the analysis covered nearly 3,000 counties and county equivalents in 92 metrics across 10 categories. The analysis includes data on population health; income equity; education; food and nutrition; the environment; transportation; and public safety.

A few new metrics were added to the U.S. News analysis. U.S. News says it added the gender wage gap into its equity category, the food insecurity rate in its analysis of nutrition, and mortality rates for COVID-19, influenza and pneumonia in the population health category.

The rankings reflect an examination of data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the U.S. Census Bureau, and the Environmental Protection Agency. U.S. News worked with the University of Missouri Extension Center for Applied Research and Engagement Systems (CARES) in the analysis.

U.S. News is well known for its rankings of hospitals, releasing its 35th annual rankings last month. U.S. News has also recently released its inaugural ranking of ambulatory surgery centers, and this year produced its inaugural compilation of top hospitals in health equity.

• Read more: How U.S. News selects the ‘Best Hospitals’

Here’s the rundown of the 10 healthiest communities, and the top 5 in other key categories.

Healthiest communities

1. Falls Church, Virginia

2. Los Alamos County, New Mexico

3. Douglas County, Colorado

4. Sioux County, Iowa

5. Hamilton County, Indiana

6. Dallas County, Iowa

7. Ozaukee County, Wisconsin

8. Carver County, Minnesota

9. Bremer County, Iowa

10. Morgan County, Utah

Top communities for health outcomes

1. Marin County, California

2. Los Alamos County, New Mexico

3. Carver County, Minnesota

4. Hunterdon County, New Jersey

5. Arlington County, Virginia

Top communities for access to health care

1. Suffolk County, Massachusetts

2. Olmsted County, Minnesota

3. Montour County, Pennsylvania

4. Perry County, Kentucky

5. Salem, Virginia

Top communities for mental health

1. Honolulu County, Hawaii

2. Santa Clara County, California

3. Fairfax County, Virginia

4. Wayne County, Nebraska

5. San Mateo County, California

Top communities for health equity

1. Adair County, Missouri

2. Pitkin County, Colorado

3. Franklin County, Missouri

4. Coles County, Illinois

5. Tuscarawas County, Ohio