There are any number of ways to measure quality of life across geographic areas: Who has the longest commutes? Who breathes the cleanest air? Where are obesity rates lowest? Who has the most access to exercise facilities?
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has the answers. The foundation’s annual County Health Rankings, a joint project with the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, use nearly three dozen indicators to pit regions against each other, all in an effort to measure ways to improve health outcomes across the country.
The rankings, released Wednesday, show the counties where residents enjoy higher-than-average health have better access to healthy foods, parks and exercise facilities, where doctors are plentiful and the air is cleaner. Unhealthy atmospheres can lead to lower-than-average graduation rates, higher obesity and denser, more expensive housing conditions (Find the complete report, along with downloadable data, here).
