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How Healthy is Your County?

For the second year in a row, the St. Augustine area was ranked the healthiest in Florida, according to a study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.

St. John’s County, where St. Augustine is the largest town, topped the list, followed by two other coastal counties, Martin on the east and Collier on the west.

The study, now in its fourth year, ranks counties based on several factors that influence public health, such as tobacco use, diet, education, income and the environment. See how each Florida county measures up here.

Three counties saw double-digit improvement from 2012 to 2013: DeSoto, Glades and Lee. As the Fort Myers News-Press reports, Lee County’s declines in premature death, motor vehicle death and teen births pushed the county from 24th place up to 11th.

Union County was ranked dead last again this year. Several counties sank in the rankings, including Bradford, Citrus, Hardee, Jefferson and Pinellas. See the rankings for 2012 and 2013 here.

Originally founded in December 2006 as an independent grassroots publication dedicated to coverage of health issues in Florida, Health News Florida was acquired by WUSF Public Media in September 2012.