50 states ranked by overall health in 2023

United Health Foundation released its 2023 America's Health Rankings Dec. 5, which analyzes the overall health of the 50 states and this year identifies a record-high and rising prevalence of chronic conditions.

For the 2023 rankings, UHF analyzed 87 measures across five categories of health: social and economic factors, physical environment, behaviors, clinical care and health outcomes. This year, eight chronic conditions — arthritis, depression, diabetes, asthma, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and chronic kidney disease — reached their highest levels since America's Health Rankings began tracking these measures in 1990. 

New Hampshire came out on top for 2023, ranking in the top quartile across the categories: social and economic factors (No. 1), physical environment (No. 12), behaviors (No. 2), clinical care (No. 6) and health outcomes (No. 8). Four of the five top-ranking states are found on the East Coast.

Louisiana trailed the nation and has the most room for improved health, ranking in the bottom quadrant across all five measured categories. All five of the bottom-ranking states are found in the South. 

The 2023 rankings mark the second edition after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The foundation excluded the ranking of states by overall health in 2020 and 2021 "out of a shared understanding of the significant and unprecedented health challenges presented by the pandemic." (Find an overview of the 2022 rankings here.) 

Below are the 2023 state rankings. Summaries containing a breakdown of each state's performance in individual categories or measures can be found here. Each measure can be explored at state and national levels here, and the complete 40-page annual report from UHF can be found here

1. New Hampshire 
2. Massachusetts
3. Vermont 
4. Connecticut 
5. Minnesota 
6. Hawaii 
7. Washington 
8. Rhode Island 
9. Utah 
10. Maine 
11. Maryland
12. Colorado 
12. New Jersey 
14. North Dakota 
15. Iowa 
16. South Dakota 
17. Nebraska 
18. Delaware 
19. Virginia
20. Idaho
21. Oregon 
22. Wisconsin 
23. Pennsylvania 
24. Montana 
25. Illinois 
26. Michigan 
27. New York 
28. California 
29. Kansas 
30. Wyoming 
31. Florida 
32. North Carolina 
33. Alaska 
34. Arizona 
35. Indiana 
36. Ohio
37. Georgia 
38. South Carolina 
39. Texas
40. Missouri 
41. Kentucky 
42. Nevada
43. New Mexico 
44. Tennessee 
45. West Virginia 
46. Alabama 
47. Oklahoma
48. Arkansas 
49. Mississippi 
50. Louisiana 

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