Community Corner
Middlesex County Healthiest in Mass.; Hampden Worst
The County Health Rankings & Roadmaps study ranked the state's 14 counties.
Middlesex County is the healthiest county in the state, while Hampden is the worst, according to a nationwide study.
The County Health Rankings & Roadmaps rankings were based on birth rates, obesity, smoking, unemployment, access to healthy foods, and the quality of air and water, among other factors.
In Middlesex County, 23 percent of adults were found to be obese and 11 percent smoked, according to the study. In Hampden County, those number were 29 percent and 19 percent, respectively.
Here are the full county rankings for Massachusetts:
1. Middlesex
2. Dukes
3. Norfolk
4. Nantucket
5. Hampshire
6. Essex
7. Barnstable
8. Franklin
9. Worcester
10. Plymouth
11. Berkshire
12. Bristol
13. Suffolk
14. Hampden
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