Here are New Jersey's healthiest counties

Morris County has leapfrogged Hunterdon County as the healthiest in New Jersey, when disease, death and various factors that influence health are considered, while residents of Cumberland County continue to have the worst health behaviors and outcomes in the state.

Those are some of the findings in the ninth annual County Health Rankings, a 50-state report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin's Population Health Institute that provides comparative data for every county. The data is often used by state officials, health care organizations and community groups to decide where to direct resources and programming.

Bergen County ranked fourth overall and in the Top 5 for all categories considered except physical environment, which is a measure of air quality, drinking water violations, housing problems and commuting times. Passaic County ranked 13th overall, with its biggest weakness coming in the clinical care category, which includes insurance coverage and access to health care professionals.

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A central conclusion of the report is that good health is influenced by many factors besides medical care, such as housing, education and jobs. Wealthier counties tend to fare better than poorer counties for that reason.

But race and ethnicity also have a strong bearing on health behaviors and outcomes, the data show. One of the most alarming statistics in the report was that black residents as a group have worse health outcomes than those in the lowest-ranked county.

“These gaps are largely the result of differences in opportunities in places where we live, and these differences disproportionately undercut the health and the prospects of people by race,” said Toni Lewis, a health coach with the organizations behind the rankings.

“In addressing this, we need to go beyond just making sure people can see a doctor,” Lewis said. “We need to fix the things that stand in the way of good health, like residential segregation, discrimination or not having enough good-paying jobs.”

The rankings are based on 35 factors that measure health outcomes, like poor health and length of life, and quality of life, from obesity rates to educational achievement and poverty levels.

Top 5 counties

1. Morris

What it does well: Just 15 percent of children live in a single-parent household, half the statewide average.

Room for improvement: The county reported drinking water violations.

2. Hunterdon

What it does well: Only 4 percent of children live in poverty, less than a third of the statewide average of 15 percent.

Room for improvement: 82 percent of the workforce drives alone to work, 10 percent above the statewide average.

3. Somerset

What it does well: Among the lowest rates of smoking and inactivity.

Room for improvement: Slightly more adults report heavy or binge drinking than the statewide average.

4. Bergen

What it does well: High school graduation rate of 95 percent is better than the statewide average of 90 percent.

Room for improvement: Air pollution of 10 micrograms per cubic meter is higher than the statewide average of 9.8.

5. Sussex

What it does well: Only 6 percent of residents of uninsured, compared to 10 percent statewide.

Room for improvement: Adult obesity is at 28 percent, two points above the statewide average.

Bottom 5 counties

21. Cumberland

What it does well: Commute times among those who drive to work alone are among the lowest in the state.

Room for improvement: Unemployment exceeds the statewide average by 2.5 percent, while teen births are nearly three times the statewide average.

20. Salem

What it does well: Only 8 percent of people are uninsured, compared to 10 percent statewide.

Room for improvement: Reported the highest level of premature death.

19. Camden

What it does well: The county has a higher number of primary care physicians and mental health providers per person than the statewide average.

Room for improvement: 11 percent more children live in single-parent households than the statewide average of 30 percent.

18. Essex

What it does well: All residents have access to exercise opportunities.

Room for improvement: 14 percent of residents are uninsured, compared to 10 percent statewide, and it has a relatively high level of income inequality.

17. Atlantic

What it does well: Air pollution of 8.8 micrograms per cubic meter is lower than the statewide average of 9.8.

Room for improvement: Adults smoke here at 5 points above the statewide average of 14 percent.

Email: pugliese@northjersey.com