Healthiest States in the U.S.: Where Does Colorado Rank?

More and more, it seems like Americans are seeking out ways to enrich their daily lives by reconnecting with the outdoors, whether it be via a local walking path, bike lane or through one of the nation’s myriad of hiking trails.

For residents of The Centennial State, it seems like younger natives are taking that mantra to heart, with the state ranking among the leaders in the United States when it comes to being healthy, with high ranks for life expectancy, obesity rates and percentage of the population that smoke.

After the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans – predominately the younger generations – have an increased focus on their health and wellness.

BetColorado.com, home to the best Colorado sportsbooks, used data to create a ranking system of how healthy states are based on life expectancy, obesity percentages, physical activity percentages, and smoking percentages. Based on this system, Hawaii is the healthiest state in the U.S., but Colorado has plenty of bragging rights.

Note: CDC.gov was used to locate the life expectancies and obesity prevalence by state; Quotewizard.com provided insights for the physical activity percentage; Lung.org was used to find the smoking percentage by state.

Healthiest States in the U.S.

Rank/State	Life Exp.	Obesity %	Active %	Smoking %
1. Hawaii	80.7 (1st)	25.9% (2nd)	80% (T-5th)	12.8% (4th)
2. California	79 (T-4th)	28.1% (5th)	80% (T-5th)	11.3% (2nd)
3. Utah	78.6 (9th)	31.1% (13th)	83% (T-1st)	8.9% (1st)
4. Colorado	78.3 (12th)	25% (1st)	83% (T-1st)	14.6% (11th)
5. Massachusetts	79 (T-4th)	27.2% (4th)	79% (T-13th)	13.7% (T-5th)
6. Vermont	78.8 (T-7th)	26.8% (3rd)	82% (T-3rd)	15.8% (18th)
7. New Hampshire	79 (T-4th)	30.2% (8th)	80% (T-5th)	15.7% (T-16th)
8. Connecticut	78.4 (T-10th)	30.6% (10th)	77% (T-18th)	12.7% (3rd)
9. Washington	79.2 (2nd)	31.7% (15th)	82% (T-3rd)	16.4% (T-22nd)
T-10. Idaho	78.4 (T-10th)	33.2% (T-19th)	80% (T-5th)	14.3% (9th)
T-10. Minnesota	79.1 (3rd)	33.6% (25th)	80% (T-5th)	14.5% (10th)
12. Oregon	78.8 (T-7th)	30.9% (12th)	80% (T-5th)	16.1% (20th)
13. New Jersey	77.5 (T-19th)	29.1% (6th)	76% (T-24th)	13.7% (T-5th)
14. Rhode Island	78.2 (13th)	30.8% (11th)	76% (T-24th)	14.9% (12th)
15. Maryland	76.8 (T-23rd)	33.2% (T-19th)	78% (T-15th)	13.8% (7th)
16. New York	77.7 (T-15th)	30.1% (7th)	74% (T-36th)	14.1% (8th)
17. Montana	76.8 (T-23rd)	30.5% (9th)	78% (T-15th)	17.2% (T-26th)
18. Wisconsin	77.7 (T-15th)	37.7% (40th)	80% (T-5th)	16% (19th)
T19. Nebraska	77.7 (T-15th)	35.3% (31st)	76% (T-24th)	15.4% (13th)
T19. Virginia	77.6 (18th)	35.2% (30th)	79% (T-13th)	16.4% (T-22nd)
21. Arizona	76.3 (T-32nd)	33.2% (T-19th)	77%(T-18th)	15.6% (15th)
22. Alaska	76.6 (29th)	32.1% (16th)	80% (T-5th)	21% (42nd)
23. Maine	77.8 (14th)	33.1% (18th)	74% (T-36th)	17.3% (28th)
24. Florida	77.5 (T-19th)	31.6% (14th)	70% (T-45th)	16.1% (T-22nd)
25. Illinois	76.8 (T-23rd)	33.4% (T-22nd)	73% (T-40th)	15.5% (14th)

Colorado Knows How To Stay Active

Nationally, Colorado ranks as the fourth healthiest state in America, thanks to holding down the No. 1 (lowest) ranking when it comes to obesity rank (25%) and ranking in a tie with Utah for No. 1 in physical activity (83%). Throw in the fact that Colorado has the 12th highest life expectancy and the 11th lowest smoking percentage and you have the recipe for the state’s high ranking.

Overall, The Centennial State ranked just behind national leaders in overall health like Hawaii (No. 1), California (No. 2) and Utah (No. 3).

Conversely, the least healthy state in America was West Virginia, with Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee rounding out the bottom tier states in America when it came to statewide health rankings in 2024.

If you enjoyed this lifestyle piece from BetColorado.com, check out others on tap, such as: Colorado’s Most Infamous Challenged and Banned Books.

USA Today photo by Logan Newell.

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Author

Christopher Boan

@cgboan

Christopher Boan has been covering sports and sports betting for more than seven years, including stops at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.