America’s Health Rankings’ purpose is to create widespread awareness of where states stand on
important public health measures. To achieve this, comprehensive data are necessary to assess the
current health of populations across the nation.
The 2019 America’s Health Rankings Health of Women and Children Report provides a state-by-state
comparison of the health of women, infants and children. The report combines various health-related
measures across categories of health determinants and health outcomes using a wealth of reputable
data sources.
State Rankings
The health of women and children across states
The healthiest states for women, infants and children are in the Northeast, West and Midwest. The
states with the most health challenges are concentrated in the South, with the exception of Nevada.
The top five states are Northeastern states.
Four of the bottom five states are Southern states.
The states are ranked according to a calculated score (see Methodology page 165), with the U.S.
score set at zero.