University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute Releases County Health Rankings

The University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute (UWPHI) has released annual rankings of America’s healthiest counties.

This year’s report emphasized the link between civic health and physical well-being. 

“Areas with well-resourced civic infrastructure have more civic participation. Both are tied to how well and how long we live,” the researchers found.

Counties with higher physical health outcomes have greater access to parks, libraries and broadband. They also have higher voter turnout and U.S. Census participation. Therefore, in addition to factors like disease and life expectancy, UWPHI also took economic and social indicators into account. 

The San Francisco Bay Area received high scores, with four Bay Area counties making the top 5.

California’s 10 Healthiest Counties

1. Marin

2. San Mateo 

3. Santa Clara

4. Placer

5. Napa

6. Orange 

7. San Francisco 

8. Ventura

9. Santa Cruz

10. Sonoma

Trinity, Siskiyou and Lake counties had the lowest health rankings. 

Read the full report and methodology here.

List and data were compiled by UWPHI and may not reflect statistics on all counties.