Anne Arundel County Among Country’s Healthiest: U.S. News

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — Anne Arundel County is among the nation's healthiest, according to the results of a collaboration between U.S. News & World Report and the Aetna Foundation. Anne Arundel came in No. 384, down from No. 303 last year.

Released on Tuesday, the 2019 healthiest communities rankings is the result of an evaluation of nearly 3,000 communities around the country across dozens of metrics.

Here's how the nine Maryland counties on the top 500 healthiest communities list ranked:

• 10: Howard County (last year: 20)
• 71: Montgomery County (last year: 97)
• 240: Carroll County (last year: 137)
• 301: Frederick County (last year: 270)
• 313: Calvert County (last year: 279)
• 338: Harford County (last year: 197)
• 384: Anne Arundel County (last year: 303)
• 435: Charles County (last year: 373)
• 474: Queen Anne's County (last year: not in top 500)

Of the nine, three counties had improved from last year, whereas six dropped on the list. Still, top 500 in a group of nearly 3,000 isn't too shabby.

Anne Arundel scored a total of 65 points in the ranking, compared to the state average of 54.7.

The top spot on the 2019 list goes to Douglas County, Colorado. Los Alamos County in New Mexico took the No. 2 spot while Falls Church in Virginia ranked No. 3, dropping from the No. 1 spot in 2018. Loudoun County in Virginia and Broomfield, County in Colorado came in at No. 4 and No. 5 respectively. Overall, seven Colorado communities ranked among the top 20. Iowa was another state that fared well in the rankings, taking 62 of the top 500 spots.

Below are the 10 categories the communities were graded on. In all, 81 metrics were used to rank:

• Population Health
• Equity
• Education
• Economy
• Housing
• Food & Nutrition
• Environment
• Public Safety
• Community Vitality
• Infrastructure

Along with the overall healthiest communities rankings, U.S. News also created rankings based on the urban or rural status of individual communities. Those were grouped into four categories: urban high-performing, urban up-and-coming, rural high-performing and rural up-and-coming.

Below are the top ranked communities in each category:

Urban, High-Performing:
Douglas County, Colorado
Los Alamos County, New Mexico
Falls Church City, Virginia
Loudoun County, Virginia
Broomfield County, Colorado

Rural, High-Performing:
Teton County, Wyoming
Chaffee County, Colorado
Morgan County, Utah
Routt County, Colorado
Jefferson County, Montana

Urban, Up-and-Coming
Houston County, Minnesota
Hood River County, Oregon
Bennington County, Vermont
Island County, Washington
Marquette County, Michigan

Rural, Up-and-Coming
Wallowa County, Oregon
Lincoln County, Washington
Calhoun County, Iowa
Iron County, Wisconsin
Baylor County, Texas

Below are the top ranked communities in each category for Maryland:

Urban, High-Performing:

• Howard County
• Montgomery County

Rural, High-Performing:
(none)

Urban, Up-and-Coming:
(none)

Rural, Up-and-Coming:
(none)

U.S. News worked with the University of Missouri Center for Applied Research and Engagement Systems (CARES) to compile the rankings. The publication also consulted with members of the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics. Data came from sources like the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preventions, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.