Ohio
Ohio is one of the unhealthiest states, study says. See where it ranks
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Three Ohio counties were named among the unhealthiest in the country in a study released earlier this year.
Now, Ohio takes No. 9 in the least healthy state population rankings, per a Forbes study.
Here’s why Ohio rates as one of the least healthy states in the country.
What makes Ohio one of the unhealthiest states in the U.S.?
Being healthy can allow one to participate in all activities and enjoy their life. Unfortunately, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that six in 10 American adults have at least one chronic disease and four in 10 have two or more.
So, what makes Ohio No. 9 in the rankings of the unhealthiest states?
The Forbes study utilized 21 metrics across three categories—disease risk factors and prevalence, substance abuse, and lifestyle habits and health outlook. Ohio had a low score in all three categories (where 100 is the worst score):
- Disease Factors and Prevalence Score: 68.02
- Substance Abuse Score: 77.53
- Lifestyle Habits and Health Outlook: 80.89
- Overall score: 78.38
The Buckeye State was among the 10 worst for substance abuse and lifestyle habits/health outlook, and was No. 11 for disease risk factors and prevalence.
Ohio’s relatively poor showing in the Forbes study stands as an improvement from when it ranked close to last for health in a 2021 study by the Columbus-based Health Policy Institute of Ohio.
Cuyahoga County is one of the most unhealthy counties in the country
The Forbes study also looked at 100 of the most populated counties in the US. Cuyahoga County in Ohio is No. 2 in the top five unhealthiest counties in the country, earning a score of 99.38 out of 100.
Cuyahoga County has the highest rate of heart disease (7.2%) in the nation, putting many of its residents at risk for potentially fatal complications such as aneurysms, heart attacks, and strokes.
Other Cuyahoga County statistics include:
- 2nd highest percentage of adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (8.5%)
- 4th highest percentage of adults who have had a stroke (3.8%)
- 4th highest percentage of adults with high blood pressure (37.3%)
- 5th highest percentage of adults with chronic kidney disease (3.6%)
- 6th highest percentages of adults with diagnosed diabetes (13.6%), cancer (7.5%), and adults who are current smokers (18%)
Rankings in the Midwest: Where Indiana, Kentucky, and Michigan landed
Joining Ohio in the top 10 unhealthiest states are West Virginia (No. 1 overall, 100.0 score), Kentucky (No. 5, 87.46) and Indiana (No. 10, 76.37).
Michigan came in at No. 14 (63.66 score).
Additionally, three other counties in the Midwest join Cuyahoga County in the top five least healthy counties list. Michigan takes two spots, Wayne County (No. 1) and Macomb County (No. 4), and Kentucky takes one with Jefferson County (No. 2)
Top 10 unhealthiest states
The full list of the 10 unhealthiest states in the Forbes study (with overall scores in parentheses):
- West Virginia (100.0)
- Mississippi (96.04)
- Tennessee (94.39)
- Arkansas (88.06)
- Kentucky (87.46)
- Alabama (83.70)
- Louisiana (82.81)
- Oklahoma (81.69)
- Ohio (78.38)
- Indiana (76.37)
Top 10 healthiest states
At the other end of the spectrum, the 10 healthiest states in the US are scattered around the country (with overall scores in parentheses):
- Hawaii (0.00)
- Utah (11.34)
- Connecticut (13.33)
- Minnesota (16.16)
- Massachusetts (17.02)
- Colorado (18.67)
- New Jersey (19.23)
- New Hampshire (20.35)
- Washington (23.01)
- New York (23.04)
STRYKER, Ohio (WKRC) – An Ohio woman allegedly broke into her ex-husband’s home while he was sleeping and threatened to kill him before opening fire.
According to a criminal complaint obtained by Law&Crime, 31-year-old Amanda Heller broke into a man’s home on April 26. The man was identified as Heller’s ex-husband by local outlet WTOL.
After the victim woke up, Heller allegedly threatened to kill him before taking out a handgun and firing twice.
No injuries were reported in connection to the shooting, Law&Crime reported. Nobody else was in the home at the time of the incident, authorities reported.
Heller was arrested and charged with felonious assault, attempted aggravated murder, aggravated burglary, domestic violence, and improperly discharging a weapon at or into a habitation or school.
AI influencers are all over your feed
AI influencers may not change minds — but they can amplify division and inflame political tensions online.
We can’t believe our eyes
Re “AI political ads bring fears over ’26 election,” May 27: I fully support House Bill 185. It probably doesn’t go far enough. This is a prime example of “don’t believe everything you see on the Internet.”
I am being inundated with emails and text messages from organizations and people I do not know. I block them as spam, but it doesn’t seem to do any good. About the only way to combat this is to attend a live debate between candidates, but most people do not have the time to do that.
I use AI every day with caution. We need better ways of identifying AI-created falsehoods.
Edwin Heller, Dublin
Tell voters what’s real
Re “AI political ads bring fears over ’26 election,” May 27: I don’t think AI should be used in political ads, but there is no way to stop it.What we can and should do is require campaigns to certify that their ad did or did not use AI to generate or edit content that:
- Makes a real person appear to say or do something they didn’t say or do.
- Alters footage of a real event or place.
- Generates a realistic-looking scene that didn’t actually occur.
We grade movie content. Why not political advertising? The public needs a way to help distinguish truth from fiction.
Richard Wires, Columbus
Ban political ads, already
Re “AI political ads bring fears over ’26 election,” May 27: Political ads should be banned. Those using – AI-generated or not. I don’t trust anything I read online anymore, and especially political ads.
People read/see those ads, don’t research the information in them, and vote according to, oftentimes, the misinformation in those ads. The huge amounts of money being spent on ads is sinful!
Lyn Miller, Smithville
Food cuts hurt hungry families
While President Donald Trump and Republicans continually find new ways to enrich their billionaire funders and friends, they’ve made the largest cuts to SNAP in history, making it more difficult for over 40 million Americans, including 16 million children and 8 million seniors, to access healthy foods and forcing them to rely on the cheapest foods (usually the most ultra-processed}.
They’re especially hurting American children and setting them up for worse health outcomes than previous generations by making it harder for them to access healthy foods.
They’ve cut funding to support farm-to-school programs and food banks, passed the largest cut to food assistance in history, and are pushing to end the decades-old practice of putting fluoride in water to reduce tooth decay. Most appalling, they’ve even allowed food companies to use cancer-causing chemicals in snack foods targeted to children.
Meanwhile, they’ve allowed food companies to take advantage of inflation to raise prices to increase their profits. A Kroger executive suggested that inflation is good for business when he testified the chain has hiked the milk and eggs prices beyond the costs from inflation.
This is one more reason that we must do all we can to get Republicans out of office.
Russ Smith, Strongsville
TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) – The FBI was part of a search of multiple properties related to Stansley Mining on Friday, a spokesperson for the agency confirmed.
A Public Affairs Officer for the FBI Cleveland Division confirmed to the 13 Action News I-TEAM that authorities searched a business in the area of Siliva Road in Sylvania, as well as property in Ottawa County by State Route 590 in Benton Township.
Officials with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation told the 13 Action News I-TEAM that they executed a search warrant at the property in Benton Township. Ohio BCI’s environmental division and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency were involved in the search.
It’s unclear exactly what officials were looking for. The FBI spokesperson said there wasn’t additional information to share at this point, but added there is no threat to the public.
Stansley Mining is the entity that owns Rocky Ridge Development, a company at the center of extensive 13 Action News coverage after its South Toledo mining operation was improperly working in a residentially-zoned area.
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