Hunterdon County Healthiest, Cumberland Least Healthy In NJ, Study Shows

Hunterdon County is New Jersey's healthiest, while Cumberland County ranks as the least healthy, according to a study released today by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.

 It measures factors such as adult smoking and obesity, excessive drinking and the rate of motor vehicle deaths, as well as the quality of clinical care, environmental factors and the violent
crime rate.  

“The County Health Rankings show us that much of what influences our health happens outside of the doctor’s office. In fact, where we live, learn, work and play has a big role in determining how healthy we are and how long we live,” said Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., M.B.A., president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “The good news is that businesses, health care providers, government, consumers and community leaders are already joining forces in communities across the nation to change some of the gaps that the Rankings highlight.”

Within each state, even the healthiest counties have areas where they can improve. Healthier counties (those where people live longer and have a better quality of life) have lower rates of smoking, physical inactivity, teen births, preventable hospital stays, unemployment, children in poverty, and violent crime and higher levels of education, social support, and access to primary care physicians. But healthier counties are no more likely than unhealthy counties to have lower rates of excessive drinking or obesity or better access to healthy food options.

Somerset, Morris, Bergen and Monmouth counties completed the top five in the study's rankings. The least healthy counties were, in descending order, Camden, Atlantic, Hudson, Salem and Cumberland.  

How healthy is your county?  Click here to find out.