Healthiest states to live in (insurance, find a job, living)

[tamaralj]

Which states are the healthiest to live in? Do you live in a healthy state and what makes it that way in your opinion. I live in KY, and I think that parts can be healthy or encourage good health, but we do have a high cancer rate. I have found that Colorado is one the healthiest states to live in. A state that encourages outdoor activities and has good health care facilities would rate high. So just wondering? How healthy is your state and why?

[Dawn.Davenport]

The healthiest state I've ever lived in was Minnesota. The people there were quite fit, there's a low smoking rate, a low obesity rate, a high rate of people with insurance. A lot of people x-country ski in the winter. I feel that it's easier to exercise in the winter than when it's super hot and humid. Minnesota also has great government insurance for the poor. There's also not a lot of fast food.


I currently live in Maryland where poverty is a bit of a problem. Smoking and obesity are a bigger problem here than anywhere else I've lived (Tucson, Minneapolis, Chicago, and Syracuse). Maryland and Delaware also have the highest HIV rate per capita out of the entire country (though the city of Baton Rouge is actually worse).

[nep321]

The healthiest states in the country are entirely within the Northeast, out West or the upper Midwest.

[JerseyGirl415]

Originally Posted by nep321

The healthiest states in the country are entirely within the Northeast, out West or the upper Midwest.

Yup, and the least healthiest states (as far as obesity rates go) are in the South, especially the Deep South. I think it's a socio-economic issue, and that is why.

[h2f42]

Hawaii - check it out

[JerseyGirl415]

Originally Posted by h2f42

Hawaii - check it out

QOL there is definitely amazing, if only COL was that amazing.

[EricS39]

Hawaii is not healthy on sun exposure for fair skinned people. I put healthiest state as Oregon

Next is Vermont

Then Utah

Fourth place I would say New Hampshire

Then Tie for Minnesota and Maine

Then Massachusetts

Then Wisconsin

Then Washington state

Then California

Then Colorado

Then tied for 11th place ...Connecticut and Maryland

12th is tie Hawaii and RI

Next Iowa

Then NY state

Then Pennsylvania

Then Alaska

Then Montana

Then Nebraska

Then Idaho

Then Florida

Then Ohio

[LexusNexus]

I don't think any one state can claim to be the "healthiest". IMO the healthiest state for any particular individual is the one that allows him/her to be happy, gainfully employed, happy with what he/she does for a living, able to live comfortably, and eat as healthy as possible, have a fulfilling love life, a thriving family, weather that is agreeable, little to no stress, and an abundance of people who he/she has much in common with.

I lived back east and found it much too congested, too stressful, and I didn't care for the weather. I'm from the Midwest, but I found it hard to find a job I liked, and the winters were brutal. I don't care for the South because I'm a Yankee and don't agree with its political leanings. I prefer California because all of the above are met. For some, CA may not be the healthiest for a variety of reasons, such as cost-of-living, too much stress in a high-tech job, and so forth.

[JerseyGirl415]

Anyway, OP I just posted some sources as far as ranking health by state, mostly focused on obesity. It's quite easy to google stuff like this, as they do have rankings, whether some people want to listen to them or not. Usually, mountain states tend to be the healthiest and Southern/some Midwestern states the least, with the remaining somewhere in between. There are of course many factors involved in health, but leading issues people are mostly concerned with today tend to be obesity and cancer.