Chester County Ranked One Of the Nation’s Healthiest

CHESTER COUNTY, PA —Chester County has been ranked as the 92nd healthiest community in the nation in a study issued today by the U.S. News & World Report.

There are nearly 3,000 counties or county equivalents in the country. Chester County came in second in Pennsylvania to neighboring Montgomery County, which was ranked as number 83.

Chester County’s accolade follows news in April of Chester County ranked first of the 67 counties in Pennsylvania by the University of Wisconsin and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation County Health Ranking report.

Marian Moskowitz, chairwoman of the county commissioners, said the additional health recognition demonstrates that Chester County is a community ahead of the curve.

“The commitment of our Health Department leadership and staff, our healthcare providers, hospitals, clinics, social service-related non-profit organizations, and our environmental stewardship and recreational resources all add up,” Moskowitz said.

Top 10% in economic category

Chester County also ranked in the Top 100 High Performing Urban Communities nationwide, scoring in the top 10% in the “economy” category.

“This ranking indicates that we’re doing many things right, and much of this is down to our community partners,” Commissioner Josh Maxwell said.

“We understand how important it is to review all the conditions that impact the well-being of our residents – from treatment and prevention of, and education on physical and mental health issues, to the impact of jobs, housing, schooling, transportation, and exercise.”

Commissioner Michelle Kichline noted that Chester County was one of the first counties in the state to fund its own health department, which has been very valuable in the past two years.

“For years, we have focused on, and invested in the health and safety of our residents, taking into account physical, emotional, mental and environmental health needs,” Kichline said.

The report was prepared in collaboration with CVS Health.

The report contains rankings drawn from an examination of nearly 3,000 counties and county equivalents on 89 health and health-related metrics in 10 categories.

Population health and equity are the most highly weighted factors in the methodology, followed closely by education and economy.

The 2022 U.S. News & World Report Healthiest Communities Report is available at https://www.usnews.com/news/healthiest-communities/rankings.