California’s Healthiest Counties Ranked by U.S. News & World Report

San Mateo has been ranked the healthiest county in California by U.S. News & World Report. The researchers incorporated new environmental health data in their 2022 rankings amid the growing threat from climate change.

U.S. News & World Report measured 3,000 U.S. counties and county equivalents against 89 metrics in 10 health or health-related categories. 

The ten categories were:

1. Population Health: 14.2%
2. Equity: 12.23%
3. Education: 12.15%
4. Economy: 11.1%
5. Housing: 9.5%
6. Food & Nutrition: 8.8%
7. Environment: 8.6%
8. Public Safety: 8.5%
9. Community Vitality: 7.6%
10. Infrastructure: 7.5%

These were the five healthiest counties in California:

1. San Mateo
2. Santa Clara
3. Placer
4. Marin
5. Alameda

See full list and methodology here.

List and data were compiled by U.S. News & World Report and do not reflect statistics on all counties.