Behold yet another end-of-2017 list, this one involving (drum roll, please) the healthiest (and least healthy) states in America, according to a new study by the United Health Foundation.
We'll get down to business immediately. Here is that official ranking, from most to least healthy:
1. Massachusetts
2. Hawaii
3. Vermont
4. Utah
5. Connecticut
6. Minnesota
7. Colorado
8. New Hampshire
9. Washington
10. New York
11. Rhode Island
12. New Jersey
13. Nebraska
14. Idaho
15. Iowa
16. Maryland
17. California
18. North Dakota
19. Virginia
20. Oregon
21. Wisconsin
22. Montana
23. Maine
24. South Dakota
25. Kansas
26. Wyoming
27. Illinois
28. Pennsylvania
29. Alaska
30. Delaware
31. Arizona
32. Florida
33. North Carolina
34. Texas
35. Michigan
36. New Mexico
37. Nevada
38. Indiana
39. Ohio
40. Missouri
41. Georgia
42. Kentucky
43. Oklahoma
44. South Carolina
45. Tennessee
46. West Virginia
47. Alabama
48. Arkansas
49. Louisiana
50. Mississippi
To come up with the list, the United Health Foundation considered a variety of data points: From how many doctors are licensed in a state to the number of people that are uninsured. Other factors taken into account include air pollution levels, cancer death rates, smoking data, infant mortality rates, obesity and diabetes rates, binge drinking, median household income and more.
Given the high number of primary care physicians and mental health care providers that practice in the state and the low rate of uninsured residents, Massachusetts' top ranking doesn't come as a surprise. After all, the state is home to Massachusetts General Hospital, one of the country's top rated hospitals, and a bunch of prestigious medical schools (hello, Harvard).
Dare we say that New York (10) ranking higher than California (17) really threw us off balance?