FALLS CHURCH, Va. — Falls Church, Virginia has one of the healthiest communities in the country, according to U.S. News & World Report's 2022 ranking. The report lists the city at number two.
The Healthiest Communities rankings shows how nearly 3,000 U.S. locations perform in 89 metrics across 10 health-based categories.
Within the top 20, Virginia holds four spots including Loudoun County at 12, Arlington County at 13, and Fairfax County at 17. Howard County, Maryland also makes it into the top 20 at number 18.
The rankings are determined by looking into the population health, equity, education, economy, housing, food and nutrition, environment, public safety, community vitality and infrastructure within the communities. Each category received a score of zero to 100 to determine the rankings.
Falls Church received a perfect score of 100 for population health and education. The city's lowest score was for housing with a 43.
According to U.S. News & World Report, the life expectancy in Falls Church is 80.7 years which is higher than the national average of 77.5 years. The median household income is $131,730 compared to the national average of $58,759.
Even though the median household income is double the national average, the hours needed to work to afford housing is reportedly 50. The national median is 40.6 hours.
Overall, Falls Church continues to climb the ranking with the city ranking at number three in 2021 to an improved number two this year.
Los Alamos County, New Mexico topped the rankings for the Healthiest Communities list at number one in both 2021 and 2022.