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For the first time in years, Hawaii hasn’t come out tops in Sharecare’s Community Well-Being Index – instead, the accolade has gone to a state some may find surprising.
According to the
TODAY show, Massachusetts has been named the healthiest in the nation for 2020, with Hawaii coming in second place.
TODAY reports Sharecare’s Community Well-Being Index has been shared since 2008 and looks at categories such as access to health care, food, housing, transportation, physical health, community and social bonds, financial management skills, and strength of purpose in everyday life to determine how each state fares on the well-being index.
“We know that those key social determinants of health in a year like 2020, having that strong access to infrastructure and health care resources is oftentimes a protective factor when it comes to individual well-being,” senior vice president and head of the community well-being index at Sharecare Elizabeth Colyer said in a statement reported by
TODAY. “In a year where we recognize more than ever the importance of place, the importance of our surroundings and our environment … Those insulating protective factors and those key social determinants of health were incredibly important in Massachusetts achieving its No. 1 ranking for the first time in index history.”
According to Sharecare, these are the top five healthiest states in the nation for 2020:
1. Massachusetts
2. Hawaii
3. New Jersey
4. Maryland
5. New York
The five unhealthiest states in the nation, according to Sharecare, are:
46. Kentucky
47. West Virginia
48. New Mexico
49. Arkansas
50. Mississippi