The Daily Pennsylvanian is a student-run nonprofit.

Please support us by disabling your ad blocker on our site.

salad-791891_1920

CC0

Philadelphia is the least healthy county in Pennsylvania, according to a recent ranking compiled by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.  

The rankings analyze lifespan and quality of life, reported CBS Philly, and take poverty, crime, access to health, and access to healthy foods into account.

Although Philadelphia ranks last among Pennsylvania's 67 counties, counties adjacent to Philadelphia are listed among the healthiest of the state. Chester County, which is about an hour away from Philadelphia by car, is the healthiest county in the state, while Montgomery County, just 45 minutes away, is fourth healthiest in the state. 

This isn't the first time that Philadelphia has had a poor showing at these rankings. The City of Brotherly Love has been placed at the bottom of the list in all eight years that the study has been conducted.  

"To give everyone a fair shot, we need to fix the things that stand in the way of good health, like housing segregation, discrimination, not enough good-paying jobs, and lack of access to health care," said Dr. Richard Besser, President and CEO at R.W. Johnson Foundation.

Another ranking released last year also listed Philadelphia near the bottom of the happiest cities in the U.S. Philadelphia was placed at 139 out of 150 of America's largest cities. 

Of the top 10 happiest cities, eight were from California, with Fremont claiming the top spot. Sioux Falls, S.D. was ranked No. 5 and Washington, D.C. was ranked No. 10.