New England Dominates US Health Rankings as National Screenings Increase
The healthiest states in America are concentrated in New England, according to a comprehensive new analysis of national wellbeing data. New Hampshire secured the top position in the UnitedHealth Foundation's annual report, which examined 2025 information from the Department of Health and Human Services across multiple categories including social factors, physical environment, resident behaviours, clinical care provision, and overall health outcomes.
Regional Health Disparities Revealed
Following New Hampshire in the rankings were Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, and Utah, demonstrating New England's strong performance. Conversely, the least healthy states were predominantly located across the Deep South region, with Louisiana ranking lowest for the fourth consecutive year. Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, and West Virginia completed the bottom five positions, highlighting significant geographical health inequalities across the United States.
Dr. Margaret-Mary Wilson, chief executive of the UnitedHealth Group, described the findings as encouraging, noting observable progress nationwide. "We see improvements in mortality rates, stabilising trends in behavioural health measures, and advancement across several clinical care indicators," Wilson commented, while acknowledging persistent challenges facing different communities.
Strengths and Weaknesses of Top and Bottom States
New Hampshire's leading position was attributed to excellent quality of life indicators including superior air and water quality standards. The Granite State demonstrated low prevalence of non-medical drug use and cigarette consumption, alongside high educational attainment levels that correlate strongly with improved health outcomes and healthcare access.
However, the report identified concerning areas even in top-performing states. New Hampshire recorded high rates of excessive alcohol consumption, comparatively low public health funding allocations, and evidence of racial segregation between Black and white communities. The state has also experienced several devastating flood events recently as climate change intensifies weather patterns.
Louisiana's consistently poor ranking stemmed from challenging social and economic conditions, including one of America's highest economic hardship rates. The state reported elevated homicide statistics, increased chlamydia infection rates, and significant numbers of adults avoiding healthcare due to cost concerns. Like New Hampshire, Louisiana faces climate-related challenges with increasingly severe storms affecting the Gulf Coast region.
Despite these difficulties, Louisiana demonstrated several health-related strengths including high reading proficiency among fourth-grade students, substantial cancer screening participation, and good rates of adults reporting regular healthcare providers.
National Health Improvements Documented
The report highlighted encouraging national trends over the past decade, particularly regarding physical activity levels, mortality reduction, and cancer detection efforts. Physical inactivity rates decreased by ten percent nationally, though remained 1.2 times higher in rural areas compared to urban locations. Reduced physical activity correlates strongly with obesity development and subsequent conditions like cancer and heart disease.
Premature death rates fell eight percent between 2022 and 2023, while drug-related mortality declined for the first time since 2018 as fentanyl availability decreased and synthetic opioids became less lethal. Cancer screening rates increased fifteen percent between 2022 and 2024, with medical professionals attributing rising early cancer detection in younger adults to improved screening access.
Notably, colorectal cancer screening surged sixty-two percent following revised guidelines that lowered the recommended screening age from fifty to forty-five years, according to American Cancer Society data. The report emphasised that tailored interventions remain essential for addressing distinct challenges facing different communities, particularly in rural America, though extreme weather impacts were not included in the analysis.
