Close
Executive BriefIntroductionNational SnapshotFindingsHealth OutcomesSocial and Economic FactorsClinical CareBehaviorsState RankingsAppendixMeasures TableData Source DescriptionsMethodologyReferencesState Summaries
US Summary
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
US SummaryAlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyomingRankings included in the 2025 Senior Report are derived from 36 measures across five categories of health: Social and Economic Factors, Physical Environment, Behaviors, Clinical Care and Health Outcomes. The Methodology section of the Appendix describes how overall ranks are calculated. Additional information can be found on the America’s Health Rankings Methodology page.
Vermont Ranks No. 1
Vermont is the healthiest state in this year’s Senior Report, climbing two places from last year. It ranks among the top five states in model categories Social and Economic Factors (No. 2) and Behaviors (No. 1). Vermont is No. 14 in Clinical Care, No. 15 in Health Outcomes and No. 22 in Physical Environment.
Strengths: Low prevalence of multiple chronic conditions, high rate of volunteer participation and high prevalence of exercise
Differences:
- Frequent physical distress was 8.5 times higher among adults age 65 and older who have difficulty with self-care (49.9%) than those without a disability (5.9%) in 2023.
- Frequent mental distress was 5.6 times higher among adults age 65 and older with an annual household income less than $25,000 (16.1%) than those with incomes of $75,000 or more (2.9%) in 2023.
- Smoking was 4.9 times higher among adults age 65 and older with a high school degree (9.4%) than those with a college degree (1.9%) in 2023.
Colorado (No. 2), Washington (No. 3), Utah (No. 4) and Connecticut (No. 5) complete the top five healthiest states for older adults.
Mississippi Ranks No. 50
Mississippi is the least healthy state in this year’s Senior Report for the fourth consecutive year. It ranks in the bottom five states in Social and Economic Factors (No. 50), Behaviors (No. 46) and Clinical Care (No. 50). Mississippi is No. 44 in Health Outcomes and No. 12 in Physical Environment.
Strengths: Low prevalence of excessive drinking, high percentage of older adults with a dedicated health care provider and low housing cost burden
Differences:
- Avoiding care due to cost was 9.5 times higher among adults age 65 and older with less than a high school education (14.2%) than those with a college degree (1.5%) in 2023.
- Frequent physical distress was 9.3 times higher among adults age 65 and older who have difficulty with self-care (62.9%) than those without a disability (6.8%) in 2023.
- Firearm deaths per 100,000 adults age 65 and older were 7.3 times higher among men (43.2) than women (5.9) in 2021-2023.
Louisiana (No. 49), West Virginia (No. 48), Oklahoma (No. 47) and Kentucky (No. 46) complete the five least healthy states.
The graph below displays the state scores in rank order, with the least healthy states on the left and the healthiest states on the right. The distance between bars shows the difference between state scores. For example, while Georgia (No. 38) and Indiana (No. 37) are close in ranking, they have a large difference in score, meaning Georgia would need to make a lot of progress to improve its score and move up in the rankings. There is also a large gap in score between Tennessee (No. 43) and Missouri (No. 42), as well as between West Virginia (No. 48) and Oklahoma (No. 47).
The website features downloadable State Summaries for each state and the District of Columbia. Each summary describes state-specific strengths, challenges, trends and rankings for individual measures, allowing users to identify which measures positively or negatively influenced each state’s overall rank. All this information and more is also available on the View State Data pages (accessible from the Explore Data menu), which feature dynamic visualizations and an Adjust My Rank tool that allows users to explore how progress and challenges across key measures might affect a state’s overall rank.