WASHINGTON – Three area counties — Montgomery, Howard and Fairfax — make U.S. News & World Report’s list of America’s 50 Healthiest Counties for Kids.
Montgomery County, Md., is ranked ninth, while Howard County, Md., comes in 26th.
Fairfax County, Va., is No. 26 on the list.
Ranking at the top of the list is Marin County, a northern suburb of San Francisco.
Nationwide, not all counties participated because many states don’t gather the information on which the rankings are based. About 1,200 of 3,143 counties in the U.S. took part.
The rankings take into account a number of factors for each county, including the following:
- How many babies are born weighing under 5.5 pounds
- How many babies die per 100,000
- How many teens per 1,000 give birth
- The percentage of children living in poverty
- The injury death rate per 100,000 of children ages 1-19
Other factors U.S. News considered include what percentage of children are uninsured, a county’s air quality, smoking rates for adults, adult obesity rates and whether children have access to doctors and parks.
Montgomery County had an overall score of 90.1 on a scale of 100. Howard and Fairfax counties had scores of 85.4 and 85.1, respectively.
Here are the top 10 healthiest counties for kids:
- Marin County, Calif.
- San Francisco County, Calif.
- Chittenden County, Vt.
- Norfolk County, Mass.
- Ozaukee County, Wis.
- Middlesex County, Mass.
- Boulder County, Colo.
- Douglas County, Colo.
- Montgomery County, Md.
- San Mateo County, Calif.
U.S. News & World Report also released its annual list of the nation’s top pediatric hospitals. Johns Hopkins Children’s Center and Children’s National Medical Center are both included on this list.
Follow @WTOP and @WTOPliving on Twitter.
