CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP and WVVA) -- A study says McDowell County is the unhealthiest county in West Virginia, and southern counties continue to lag behind their northern counterparts.
The report was released Wednesday by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and University of Wisconsin researchers. It ranks counties by several health factors such as smoking, drinking, obesity, and premature deaths, and other areas including education, access to health care and unemployment.
Monongalia County was deemed the healthiest county by the report. It had the lowest number of premature deaths, and for at least the fourth straight year had the lowest rates of unhealthy behaviors.
Monongalia overtook Pendleton County, which had been No. 1 the past three years.
The highest-ranking county in the WVVA viewing area is Greenbrier at No. 35.
This is the fourth-straight year McDowell County has ranked last.
Following is the full list of rankings:
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Monongalia
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Pendleton
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Doddridge
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Jefferson
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Hampshire
-
Tucker
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Pleasants
-
Upshur
-
Putnam
-
Hardy
-
Ritchie
-
Ohio
-
Roane
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Berkeley
-
Marshall
-
Hancock
-
Tyler
-
Preston
-
Mineral
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Marion
-
Grant
-
Wirt
-
Brooke
-
Gilmer
-
Barbour
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Calhoun
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Jackson
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Randolph
-
Wetzel
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Taylor
-
Braxton
-
Wood
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Morgan
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Harrison
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Greenbrier
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Monroe
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Kanawha
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Pocahontas
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Clay
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Webster
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Cabell
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Mason
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Lewis
-
Nicholas
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Raleigh
-
Summers
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Fayette
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Lincoln
-
Wayne
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Mercer
-
Boone
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Logan
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Mingo
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Wyoming
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McDowell
In Virginia, counties in Southwest Virginia were listed in the bottom half of the rankings. Giles was the highest at No. 74 of 133. Bland was 100, Wythe was 106, Buchanan was 131 and Tazewell County was 132 of 133.
View the full report on West Virginia
View the full report on Virginia
