Montgomery Ranks Highest in Annual Maryland Health Ratings

Montgomery County ranks as the healthiest county in Maryland in the annual County Health Rankings (CHR). According to the 2023 rankings, the five healthiest counties in Maryland are Montgomery, Howard. Frederick, Calvert and St. Mary’s.

The CHR, a collaboration of the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, annually compares counties within each state on more than 30 factors that impact health, including social determinants such as education, jobs, housing, exercise, commuting times and more.

“I am proud that Montgomery County is again the healthiest county in Maryland,” said County Executive Marc Elrich. “While there remains work to be done, I want to thank our health officials, hospitals, community based nonprofit health providers and other stakeholders for continuing to emphasize the importance of improving health outcomes for all of our community’s residents.”

Highlights from the 2023 report include:

• Low rates of physical inactivity--Montgomery County has a 17 percent rate of physical inactivity, compared to Maryland at 21 percent.
• High accessibility to exercise opportunities—Montgomery County has a 100 percent rate, compared to Maryland at 92 percent.
• Low rates of alcohol-impaired driving deaths—Montgomery County has a 22 percent rate, compared to Maryland at 28 percent.
• Low rates of uninsured residents--only 7 percent of Montgomery County residents are uninsured.

Several factors influence how well and how long people live. These include behavioral habits such as physical activity, nutrition, and smoking, in addition to factors from the built environment, such as access to affordable housing and well-paying jobs.

“We are pleased to see that the county ranks very highly in the aggregated health outcomes,” said Kisha Davis, the County health officer. “The County has focused for several years on improving population health and chronic disease management. By engaging hospitals, multicultural health organizations, community partners, and other key stakeholders, we can keep making progress. We continue working to improve the underlying factors that promote health for all of our residents and to eliminate the disparities that lay beneath these great results.”

To see the full report, visit the County Health Rankings and Roadmaps website.