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Executive BriefForewordIntroductionNational HighlightsFindingsHealth OutcomesSocial and Economic FactorsClinical CareBehaviorsState RankingsAppendixMeasures TableData Source DescriptionsMethodologyState Summaries
US Summary
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
US SummaryAlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyomingRankings included in this year’s Senior Report are derived from 35 measures across five categories of health: social and economic factors, physical environment, behaviors, clinical care and health outcomes. For a more detailed description of how the overall rank is calculated, visit the America’s Health Rankings Methodology page.
Utah Ranks No. 1
Utah is the healthiest state for older adults. It ranks in the top quintile across social and economic factors (No. 1), clinical care (No. 9), behaviors (No. 3) and health outcomes (No. 9).
Challenges: High suicide rate, low geriatric provider rate and low percentage of older adults with a dedicated health care provider.
The five healthiest states for older adults are Utah, New Hampshire, Colorado, Minnesota and Vermont.
Mississippi Ranks No. 50
Mississippi is the least healthy state for older adults. It ranks in the bottom quintile across all model categories: social and economic factors (No. 50), physical environment (No. 42), clinical care (No. 49), behaviors (No. 47) and health outcomes (No. 43).
Strengths: Low prevalence of frequent mental distress, low prevalence of excessive drinking and low prevalence of severe housing problems.
The five states with the most room to improve are Mississippi, Louisiana, Kentucky, West Virginia and Oklahoma.
Measure Impact
This graph displays the state scores in order of rank from healthiest to least healthy. The difference between the lengths of the bars indicates the difference between state scores. For example, Oklahoma (No. 46) and West Virginia (No. 47) have a large difference in score, making it more of a challenge for West Virginia to move up in the rankings. There is also a large gap in score between Nevada (No. 43) and Arkansas (No. 44).
To further explore state-level data, see Explore Data. The website features downloadable State Summaries for each state as well as the District of Columbia. Each summary describes state-specific strengths, challenges, trends and rankings for individual measures, allowing users to identify which measures positively or negatively influenced their state’s overall rank. This can be visualized by selecting a state in the Explore Data section. The website also features an Adjust My Rank tool that allows users to explore how progress and challenges across key measures can impact a state’s overall rank.