How Healthy Are Idahoans Compared to People in Other States?

As we approach Halloween and the holiday season, our thoughts often turn to fun, festivities, and treats, rather than concerns about our health. However, there's been a recent study released that reveals the healthiest states in America, ranked 1-50. Where is Idaho on the list?

What's fascinating about this study is that it was created by Lighthouse Dental Centre with a focus on oral health and how it affects our overall well-being.

They used data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to evaluate the overall health of each state, considering a wide range of elements critical to health and quality of life, including air quality, obesity rates, levels of physical activity, smoking, drinking etc.

Where is Idaho on the list of healthiest states in America?

Idaho is ranked 16 on the list, which on the surface doesn't seem so bad considering it's out of 50 other states, however, we're ranked much lower than Utah... and even California.

Colorado emerged as the healthiest state in the U.S., scoring an impressive 80 out of 100. Meanwhile, West Virginia scored a 40 out of 100, making it the least healthy state in the country. While we can be grateful we're not the least healthy state, Idaho is still much lower on the list than some of our neighboring and competing states; Utah, California, Wyoming, and Oregon.

California being more healthy than Idaho raises serious questions about the correlation between population size and health. This, coupled with the ongoing influx of Californians to Idaho, has become a topic of discussion among Idahoans.