4 NJ counties rank among 100 healthiest in the nation, report says

Four New Jersey counties make an appearance in the top tier of U.S. News & World Report's list of the 500 healthiest communities nationwide.

The rankings released on Wednesday are based on 89 metrics that span 10 key categories, from education and public safety to the environment and the economy.

The following counties cracked the top 100 of the rankings:

#16 Morris County

Highlights:

• Life expectancy 82.6 years
• 95.4% high school graduation rate
• $101,578 median household income
• 46% of population within 0.5 miles of a park

#27 Hunterdon County

Highlights:

• 1.8 teen births per 1,000 teenagers
• 60.4% of population with an advanced degree
• 3.9% poverty rate
• 35,345 jobs within a 45-minute commute

#67 Somerset County

Highlights:

• 11.9% smoking rate
• 12.2% of adults in poor/fair health
• 65.4% preschool enrollment
• Violent crime rate of 64.3 per 100,000

#75 Bergen County

Highlights:

• 78% voter participation rate
• 72.3% of children meeting standards in grade 4 reading/language arts
• $90,602 median household income
• 21.6% obesity prevalence (national median: 36.2%)

According to U.S. News & World Report, the healthiest community is Los Alamos County in New Mexico, followed by Falls Church City in Virginia, Douglas County in Colorado, Morgan County in Utah, and Carver County in Minnesota.

Dino Flammia is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at dino.flammia@townsquaremedia.com

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