Americans’ health outlook showed some encouraging signs of progress in 2025, according to the United Health Foundation, the nonprofit arm of the UnitedHealth Group.
Mortality rates improved, including reductions in premature death and drug death rates, according to the group's annual state-by-state analysis. National rates of cancer screenings, physical inactivity and volunteerism also improved.
At the same time, the analysis found a rising prevalence of multiple chronic conditions among adults and worsening socioeconomic challenges, such as homelessness and unemployment.
To rank the 50 states and the District of Columbia from healthiest to unhealthiest, researchers analyzed 99 measures in five categories, using the most recent data available as of Oct. 17, with the exception of that for children’s health, released Dec. 2:
◆ Social and economic factors, including community and family safety, economic resources, education, and social support and engagement.
◆ Physical environment, including air and water quality, climate and health, and housing and transit.
◆ Clinical care, including access to care, preventive clinical services and quality of care.
◆ Behaviors, including nutrition and physical activity, sexual health, sleep health, and smoking and tobacco use.
◆ Health outcomes, including behavioral health, mortality and physical health.
◆ Researchers ranked each state according to its value for each measure, with a rank of No. 1 assigned to the state with the healthiest value.
See the gallery for the 10 healthiest states, with their rankings in each category.
Katie Rass contributed to this article.
© Touchpoint Markets, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.