In 2023, the American Health Rankings ranked Louisiana as the least healthy state. In 2024, Louisiana ranked 49thleaving room for Mississippi to take last place in the national rankings.
The rankings were calculated by combining health factors and health outcomes for each state.
According to the County Health RankingsThese Louisiana parishes were the healthiest in 2024, in descending order:
- Cameron Parish (healthiest)
- Ascension Parish
- St. Tammany Parish
- Lafayette Parish
- Saint-Charles Parish
These five parishes were the least healthy in 2024, in ascending order:
- Tensas Parish
- Washington Parish
- Madison Parish
- Morehouse Parish
- Bienville Parish (least healthy)
Health factors include tobacco consumptionalcohol consumption, high blood pressure, physical inactivityhigh cholesterol, being overweight or obesitypoor diet, unemployment, income, air pollution, serious housing problems and more.
Health outcomes are calculated based on parish-specific data on:
- Premature deaths (years of potential life lost before age 75 per 100,000 inhabitants)
- Number of days in poor or poor health (percentage of adults reporting fair or poor health)
- Number of days in poor or fair physical health (average number of days in poor physical health reported in the past 30 days)
- Number of days of poor or fair mental health (average number of days of poor mental health reported in the past 30 days)
- Percentage of live births with low birth weight.