Hawaiʻi has been recognized as the eighth healthiest state in the United States, according to the America’s Health Rankings 2024 Annual Report. This marks a slight decline from its previous position of sixth place in 2023.
Dr. Kenneth Fink, director of the Hawaiʻi Department of Health, commented on the findings: “For many key indicators of public health, the data show that Hawaiʻi performs exceptionally well.” He also noted areas for potential improvement, particularly concerning economic factors and personal behaviors.
The state achieved top rankings in several health outcomes. It was ranked first for having the lowest rates of frequent mental distress and racial disparities in premature death nationwide. Additionally, Hawaiʻi had the second-lowest rate of adult obesity and third-lowest rate of adults with multiple chronic conditions.
In terms of clinical care, Hawaiʻi placed seventh overall. The state boasted the lowest rates for avoided care due to cost and preventable hospitalizations and had the second-lowest percentage of uninsured individuals. However, challenges remain as it ranked 28th in medical health providers and 34th for primary care providers.
Economic factors posed significant challenges for Hawaiʻi, which ranked 36th on the Economic Hardship Index. This index considers crowded housing, dependency, education levels, income per capita, poverty, and unemployment rates. Despite high scores for low air pollution and minimal drinking water violations, severe housing problems were prevalent as Hawaiʻi ranked last in this category.
Other areas needing attention include volunteerism (45th), voter participation (34th), insufficient sleep (50th), e-cigarette use (44th), and excessive drinking (44th).
America’s Health Rankings provides a comprehensive analysis using over 280 measures from more than 80 publicly available databases to evaluate health across states. For more details on Hawaiʻi’s performance in various health metrics, interested readers can visit their website's "State Summaries" section.