NJ's Healthcare Ranked In New Nationwide Study

Healthcare coverage for New Jerseyans is average, according to a new national ranking of available options across the United States.

In a new study by WalletHub, each state and the District of Columbia were evaluated on 44 indicators across cost, accessibility and outcomes for 2025. The weighted scores were then averaged to create an overall score.

Cost was evaluated based on six factors, including the cost of an average medical visit, the cost of an average dental visit and the average monthly insurance premium.

Access was evaluated based on 24 factors, including the share of adults with no personal doctor, the share of insured children and physicians per capita.

Outcomes were evaluated based on 14 factors, including life expectancy, share of children with medical & dental preventative-care visits in the past year.

Full List of 44 Indicators

New Jersey fell to the middle of the pack, ranking at number 27 overall among the 50 states and District of Columbia. The score of 54.85 out of 100 sits just above Washington state and right below Virginia. New Hampshire's score of 67.49 out of 100 took the top spot in the data set. Among other reasons, this was attributed to having the nation's lowest average monthly health insurance premium and having the most urgent care centers per capita certified by the Urgent Care Association of America.

New Jersey Score Breakdown

Cost (31st)
Related Coverage: The new budget signed into law by Governor Phil Murphy on June 30 includes $165 million for the continuation of Cover All Kids, $55.4 million for the Pharmaceutical Assistance to the Aged and Disabled (PAAD) and Senior Gold programs, $52 million for family planning services and reproductive health programs, and $35.8 million for Family Connects NJ.

Fees consumers were required to pay when they appealed an insurance carrier’s decisions under the Independent Health Care Appeals Program were also permanently eliminated

MORE FROM PATCH: Murphy Signs Record-Busting Budget—With New Taxes And Tax Relief—Into Law

Access (24th)
Related Coverage: According to the independent source for health policy research, KFF, New Jersey will see an increase of 3 percent when it comes to the amount of people who would be without health insurance across the state after Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. This number equates to an additional 320,000 people losing coverage. Of these, 270,000 dropped coverages would be due to the changes in Medicaid, and another 56,000 would be as a result of changes to the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

According to the NJ Department of Health and Human Services, this number is actually closer to 350,000 eligible residents who will lose coverage, along with a $3.3 billion annual loss in funding to hospitals and other forms of health resources.

Outcomes (27th):
Related Coverage: More than 10 of New Jersey's top hospitals ranked in the latest U.S. News annual evaluation of more than 4,440 hospitals in the United States were also regional standouts. One facility was even named a top 20 hospital for the entire country.

The facilities were ranked based on their performance across 30 medical and surgical services, such as risk-adjusted mortality rates, preventable complications, and level of nursing care.

The Garden State, however, found itself in the top five of two different subcategories that WalletHub presented for a deeper dive into its findings. New Jersey has the second-lowest stroke and heart disease rate, and the fourth-lowest infant mortality rate in the United States.

According to the most recent data in 2023 provided by the State of New Jersey, the 3.5 deaths per 1,000 births dropped to fourth after Vermont made the jump from 15th to 3rd in 2024. More than 19,000 deaths in New Jersey are connected to heart disease, and more than 3,500 are due to a stroke annually.

MORE FROM PATCH: These Are The Best Hospitals In New Jersey, U.S. News Says In New Ranking