The healthiest city is not highly walkable New York, nor fitness-obsessed Los Angeles, nor even one of the outdoorsy towns in the Rocky Mountain states.
A small oasis outside Washington, DC – Falls Church, Virginia – has the best indicators of health and well-being.
The city is small (just 2.2 square miles) and home to about 15,000 residents.
But people who live there, on average, live longer than most Americans, suffer from disease at a much lower rate, and the vast majority walk rather than drive.
Falls Church residents maintain an active lifestyle. Ninety-two percent of residents say they are fit and in good health.
Falls Church Mayor Letty Hardi touted her strong population health record, which takes into account people’s access to health care, lifestyle factors and rates of underlying diseases.
The life expectancy of a Falls Church resident is around 77 years, while the national average is slightly above 75 years.
Falls Church Mayor Letty Hardi praised the city after US News officially crowned it number one on the list of healthiest communities.
The active, social lifestyles of Falls Church residents mirror those seen in the Blue Zones, areas of the world including Ikaria, Greece, and Loma Linda, California, where people tend to live to 100 or older.
Falls Church received an overall score of 100 out of 100, and population health specifically received a score of 97, indicating that people have easy access to health care, are in good physical and mental health, and have a low rate of illness.
Mayor Hardi sayingWe have been embracing the urban planning concept of a “15-minute city,” where a wide range of amenities are within a 15-minute walk, bike ride, or convenient public transportation ride.
‘In fact, 70 percent of our residents now live within a 10-minute walk of a grocery store, not to mention our weekly farmers market, diverse restaurants, gyms, parks, and civic and cultural life.’
A total of 29 of the healthiest counties are in Virginia.
Virginia counties accounted for 29 of the healthiest in the country, according to US News
Residents of Falls Church, VA tend to have healthier lifestyle habits than the average American. Smoking rates in particular are considerably lower in Falls Church.
The US News analysis takes into account a variety of factors, including community vitality, economy, education, environment, equity, food and nutrition, population health, housing, infrastructure and public safety.
The city’s mayor touted its major achievements in urban planning, which “create more opportunities for daily active and passive physical activity, which also benefits the mental and social health of our community.”
This has been reflected in the statistics.
The average number of people reporting mental distress each year is much lower than the national average: 11.8 percent versus 17.1 percent.
And deaths from despair per 100,000 people stand at 47.9, compared with 63.5 nationally.
The prevalence of cancer in the community is approximately the same as the national average, 6.2 percent of the population.
But the rate of heart disease there is much lower: 3.5 percent, compared with 5.9 percent.
Mayor Hardi said: ‘Many residents are happily embracing a lifestyle that can help them stay physically healthy and reduce their carbon footprint.
‘Electric bikes are multiplying, and our popular fitness centers, busy sports fields and tree-lined, shaded streets, along with the Washington & Old Dominion Trail, offer plenty of options for healthy activity.’
Falls Church generally has a lower rate of chronic disease among its residents than the national average.
US News analyzed 500 counties and cities in total. Including Falls Church, four of the top 20 were counties in Virginia.
Other well-performing states on the list included Los Alamos County in New Mexico, Douglas County, Colorado, Sioux County, Iowa, and Hamilton County, Indiana.
Julia Haines, data editor at US News, said: ‘Assessing community health is crucial when considering the well-being of citizens across our country.
‘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.’
Overall, Falls Church’s health statistics are much better than the nation and even the state as a whole, but there is room for improvement in other areas.
The share of households in the state that spend at least a third of their income on rent is about 27 percent, compared with the national average of 23.5 percent.
Deaths from despair and severe mental distress are much lower in Falls Church than the national average. Mayor Letty Hardi attributes this to a strong sense of community and a majority of people engaging in mood-boosting physical activity.
Mayor Hardi said, “As The Little City grows, we need to continue adding more affordable and diverse housing so more people can share in the benefits our community enjoys.”
People also need to work six and a half hours more on average to be able to afford housing there.
The net migration rate is -11.1 percent, meaning more people are leaving the city than arriving. At the same time, Mayor Hardi said the city’s population is growing, particularly in the small downtown area.
The worst-performing places on the list are in Minnesota, Kentucky, Nebraska and California. Counties in those places are largely rural, which greatly increases the likelihood that it will be harder to access health care, particularly preventive care.
The population health scores for those counties ranged from 55 to 71.
