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Unassuming town in Virginia is crowned healthiest community in America - where disease is rare, life expectancy is high and everyone walks
The healthiest city isn’t highly walkable New York, fitness-obsessed Los Angeles or even one of the outdoorsy cities in the Rocky Mountain states.
A small oasis outside of Washington, DC – Falls Church, Virginia — has the best markers for health and wellbeing.
The town is small – just 2.2 square miles – and is home to about 15,000 residents.
But people who live there, on average, live years longer than most Americans, suffer disease at a much lower rate and the vast majority walk instead of driving.
Falls Church residents maintain an active lifestyle. Ninety-two percent of residents say they are fit and in good health
Falls Church Mayor Letty Hardi touted its strong showings in population health, which takes into account people's access to healthcare, lifestyle factors, and rates of underlying illness
The life-expectancy of a Falls Church resident hovers around 77 years, while the national average is slightly over 75 years.
Falls Church Mayor Letty Hardi sang the town’s praises after US News officially crowned it number one on the Healthiest Communities list.
The active, social lifestyles of Falls Church residents mirror those seen in Blue Zones, areas of the world including Ikaria, Greece and Loma Linda, California where people tend to live up to 100 or even older.
Falls Church earned an overall score of 100 out of 100, with population health specifically scoring a 97, indicating people have easy access to healthcare, are in good physical and mental health, and have a low rate of illness.
Mayor Hardi said: ‘We have been embracing the urban planning concept of a “15-minute city,” in which a wide array of amenities are located within a 15-minute walk, bike ride or convenient public transit option.
‘In fact, 70 percent of our residents now live within a 10-minute walk of a grocery store, not to mention our weekly farmers market, diverse restaurants, gyms, parks, and civic and cultural life.’
A total of 29 of the healthiest counties are located in Virginia.
Virginia counties accounted for 29 of the healthiest in the nation, according to US News
People in Falls Church, VA tend to have healthier lifestyle habits than the average American. Smoking rates in particularly are considerably lower in Falls Church
US News’ analysis takes a range of factors into consideration, including community vitality, economy, education, environment, equity, food and nutrition, population health, housing, infrastructure and public safety.
The city's mayor touted its major wins in urban planning, which, ‘creates more opportunities for daily active and passive physical activity, which also benefit the mental and social health of our community.’
This has borne out in the stats.
The average number of people who report mental distress every year is far lower than the national average, 11.8 percent versus 17.1 percent.
And deaths of despair per 100,000 people sits at 47.9, compared to 63.5 nationwide.
The prevalence of cancer in the community is about the same as the national average, 6.2 percent of the population.
But the rate of heart disease there is far lower, at 3.5 percent compared to 5.9 percent.
Mayor Hardi said: ‘Many residents happily embrace a way of life that can help keep them physically healthy and lower their carbon footprint.
‘E-bikes are multiplying, and our popular fitness centers, busy sports fields and shady, tree-lined streets – along with the Washington & Old Dominion Trail – provide plenty of options for healthy activity.’
Falls Church generally has a lower rate of chronic diseases among its residents than the national average
US News analyzed 500 counties and cities all together. Including Falls Church, four of the top 20 spots went to counties in Virginia.
Other top performers on the list included Los Alamos County in New Mexico, Douglas County, Colorado, Sioux County, Iowa, and Hamilton County, Indiana.
Julia Haines, US News data editor, said: ‘Evaluating community health is crucial as we consider the well-being of citizens across our country.
‘The Healthiest Communities rankings examine which communities offer the greatest opportunity to live a healthy, productive life. They also highlight that even the ‘healthiest’ communities struggle in certain areas.’
Falls Church’s health stats are overall far and away better than those of the country and even the state overall. But there is room for improvement in other ways.
The state’s proportion of households that spend at least a third of their income on rent is about 27 percent, compared to the national average of 23.5 percent.
Deaths of despair and severe mental distress are far lower in Falls Church than the national average. Mayor Letty Hardi attributes this to a strong sense of community and a majority of people engaging in mood-boosting physical activity
Mayor Hardi said: 'As The Little City grows up, we need to continue adding more attainable and diverse housing so more people can share in the benefits our community enjoys.'
People also need to work six and a half more hours on average to afford housing there.
The net migration rate is -11.1 percent, meaning more people are leaving then they are moving in. At the same time, Mayor Hardi said the town’s population is growing, particularly the small downtown area.
The worst-performing locations on the list were in Minnesota, Kentucky, Nebraska, and California. The counties there are primarily rural, which greatly increases the odds that healthcare, particularly preventative healthcare is harder to access.
Those counties’ population health scores ranged from 55 to 71.