How Disease Rates Vary by State — and What States Can Do About It

By many measures, Hawaii is one of the healthiest states in the union. Yet only Mississippi has a higher rate of flu or pneumonia deaths than the Aloha State. West Virginia, which is usually among the bottom dwellers in state health rankings, is in the middle of the pack when it comes to deaths related to Alzheimer’s disease.Similarly, relatively unhealthy Arkansas has a low rate of drug overdose deaths while Connecticut, which ranks near the top in overall health, has one of the country’s highest rates of death linked to drug use.Health disparities based on race, income and gender tend to draw more notice, but variations related to where people live are attracting the attention of public health officials, who are using the information to craft more-targeted policies. As the data become more precise, health policy experts believe interventions to combat geographic disparities will become even more effective.