Findings

2004 Results

America's Health: State Health Rankings - 2004 Edition shows Minnesota at the top of the list of healthiest states. Minnesota has been among the top two states since 1990. New Hampshire is ranked second this year and has been in the top two states 11 times in the last 15 years. Vermont is number three, followed by Hawaii, Utah and Massachusetts. Louisiana is 50th and the least healthy state, while Mississippi is 49th. Tennessee, South Carolina and Arkansas complete the bottom five states.

Minnesota is first this year, a position it has held for nine of the 15 years since the 1990 Edition. It was tied for first with New Hampshire in 2003. Minnesota's strengths include ranking first for a low rate of deaths from cardiovascular disease, a low premature death rate and a low rate of uninsured population. It is also in the top five states for high support for public health, a low percentage of children in poverty, a low total mortality rate, a low infant mortality rate, a low occupational fatalities rate and a high rate of high school graduation. Minnesota's biggest challenges are a high prevalence of obesity at 23.0 percent of the population and low access to adequate prenatal care with 76.0 percent of pregnant women receiving adequate prenatal care.

Louisiana is 50th this year, a position it has held for 14 of the 15 editions of this report. The state is 19th for access to adequate prenatal care, which is available to 79.2 percent of pregnant women. It ranks in the bottom five states on six of the 18 measures: a high premature death rate, a high infant mortality rate, a high rate of cancer deaths, a high percentage of children in poverty, a high rate of uninsured population and a high prevalence of smoking. It also ranks in the bottom 10 states for five other measures.

Table 4 lists the score and ranking for each of the 50 states.

Scores presented in the tables indicate the percentage a state is above or below the national norm. For example, a state with a score of 20 is 20 percent above the national average for that component. A negative score means the state is below the national average. When comparing states from year to year, differences in score are more important than changes in ranking.

Table 4