Last week, Forbes Advisor released its ranking of states based on which had the least healthy populations.
To do so, researchers examined the substance abuse rates, lifestyle habits and disease risk factors for each of the 50 states.
Topping the list was West Virginia, though Mississippi and Tennessee followed close behind.
Meanwhile, Florida ranked fairly well, placing at No. 39. This indicates that the Sunshine State is a fairly healthy state compared to the majority.
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The worst score Florida received was for substance abuse, which includes the rate of deaths due to alcohol and drug overdoses.
Reports of drug-related deaths in Central Florida has increased in recent years, attributed in large part to a “porous border” and drug-smuggling cartels trying to make their way into Florida.
“The big issue is that everything is now laced with fentanyl,” Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood told News 6 in 2022. “You have college kids and high school kids who are buying what they believe to be Adderall or MDA or whatever pills, and what they’re discovering is it’s pressed fentanyl.”
However, the state’s best score was in disease risk factors, such as the rate of deaths due to cancer and diabetes.
The full ranking is as follows:
| Rank | State | Disease Risk Factors and Prevalence Score |
Substance Abuse Score |
Lifestyle Habits and Health Outlook Score |
Overall Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Virginia | 93.07 | 79.22 | 100 | 100 |
| 2 | Mississippi | 100 | 40.82 | 98.28 | 96.04 |
| 3 | Tennessee | 84.11 | 88.65 | 92.55 | 94.39 |
| 4 | Arkansas | 87.60 | 51.36 | 89.85 | 88.06 |
| 5 | Kentucky | 82.96 | 62.85 | 90.55 | 87.46 |
| 6 | Alabama | 85.51 | 37.66 | 90.88 | 83.70 |
| 7 | Louisiana | 72.16 | 74.64 | 92.64 | 82.81 |
| 8 | Oklahoma | 79.15 | 51.97 | 87.07 | 81.69 |
| 9 | Ohio | 68.02 | 77.53 | 80.89 | 78.38 |
| 10 | Indiana | 72.92 | 52.07 | 82 | 76.37 |
| 11 | South Carolina | 73.05 | 46.38 | 73.57 | 73.65 |
| 12 | Nevada | 51.49 | 93.03 | 60.15 | 66.31 |
| 13 | Missouri | 53.97 | 69.35 | 78.36 | 66.13 |
| 14 | Michigan | 61.47 | 46.92 | 63.18 | 63.66 |
| 15 | Georgia | 66.88 | 24.25 | 60.23 | 61.90 |
| 16 | Kansas | 61.79 | 40.65 | 57.20 | 61.40 |
| 17 | North Carolina | 60.46 | 43.01 | 56.38 | 60.83 |
| 18 | New Mexico | 43.17 | 87.20 | 61.62 | 59.39 |
| 19 | Delaware | 47.36 | 60.39 | 59.25 | 55.95 |
| 20 | Maine | 38.40 | 80.46 | 42.35 | 50.97 |
| 21 | South Dakota | 49.27 | 31.42 | 51.60 | 49.44 |
| 22 | Alaska | 28.16 | 87.61 | 52.09 | 47.10 |
| 23 | Arizona | 34.20 | 71.51 | 43.41 | 46.20 |
| 24 | Texas | 54.10 | 0 | 51.02 | 45.76 |
| 25 | Virginia | 45.07 | 41.76 | 33.96 | 45.54 |
| 26 | Pennsylvania | 33.76 | 53.82 | 49.02 | 42.97 |
| 27 | Oregon | 34.52 | 76.86 | 15.63 | 42.52 |
| 28 | Iowa | 37.89 | 27.25 | 55.48 | 41.16 |
| 29 | Maryland | 33.57 | 55.64 | 28.60 | 39.50 |
| 30 | North Dakota | 27.65 | 54.19 | 53.11 | 39.48 |
| 31 | Nebraska | 39.54 | 16.03 | 45.29 | 37.96 |
| 32 | Wisconsin | 24.73 | 56.15 | 45.50 | 36.45 |
| 33 | Montana | 22 | 68.88 | 37.03 | 35.80 |
| 34 | Illinois | 33.44 | 27.92 | 38.18 | 34.98 |
| 35 | Wyoming | 20.98 | 48.84 | 59.62 | 34.75 |
| 36 | Vermont | 15.64 | 100 | 16.33 | 34.43 |
| 37 | Rhode Island | 15.26 | 89.86 | 25.08 | 33.51 |
| 38 | California | 27.91 | 56.15 | 2.13 | 30.74 |
| 39 | Florida | 25.24 | 33.78 | 32 | 29.35 |
| 40 | Idaho | 23.97 | 24.18 | 27 | 25.39 |
| 41 | New York | 15.32 | 47.49 | 19.27 | 23.04 |
| 42 | Washington | 15.77 | 55.84 | 7.24 | 23.01 |
| 43 | New Hampshire | 7.63 | 64.60 | 13.50 | 20.35 |
| 44 | New Jersey | 15.89 | 29.81 | 17.76 | 19.23 |
| 45 | Colorado | 5.66 | 71.81 | 3.19 | 18.67 |
| 46 | Massachusetts | 2.86 | 72.18 | 4.58 | 17.02 |
| 47 | Minnesota | 6.87 | 41.12 | 22.14 | 16.16 |
| 48 | Connecticut | 5.28 | 42.14 | 11.62 | 13.33 |
| 49 | Utah | 12.97 | 11.65 | 8.10 | 11.34 |
| 50 | Hawaii | 0 | 8.66 | 0 | 0 |
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