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North Carolina is One of the Healthiest States in the South

It’s not a surprise that many states down here in the South aren’t always the healthiest in the country, but what about North Carolina? Turns out, the folks here in…

Healthiest States North Carolina South

North Carolina comes in as one of the healthiest states in the South, and in the top 20 in the country.

Povozniuk / Getty Images

It's not a surprise that many states down here in the South aren't always the healthiest in the country, but what about North Carolina?

Turns out, the folks here in the Tar Heel state fair better than pretty much every other Southern state in terms of health, and generally it's not even close.

NiceRX, who provides access to prescription drugs, released a survey of the Healthiest and Unhealthiest states, and aside from Florida, North Carolina ranks as the healthiest state in the South. And you could argue that Florida is kind of an exception to the Southern states. But that's semantics.

"Looking after your own health is one of the best investments you can make for your future," NiceRX said. "From getting regular exercise to cutting down your alcohol intake, there are plenty of decisions you can make to improve your health."

Factors taken into consideration include the percentage of residents who fall into the obese category, the number of smokers, those that binge drink alcohol and residents who use fitness classes.

The catch for North Carolina, is that while (aside from Florida) we are the healthiest state in the South, we're still only at 20th overall. That's still pretty darn good, considering that's better than over half the country, but maybe there's a lot more to do.

So let's take a look at the Healthiest and Unhealthiest states, including where North Carolina falls in the list below.

Healthiest States

1-Washington

2-Massachusetts

3-Utah

4-Vermont

5-Connecticut

6-Colorado

7-New York

8-New Hampshire

9-California

10-Oregon

Least Healthiest States

41-Missouri

42-Indiana

43-Iowa

44-Oklahoma

45-Arkansas

46-West Virginia

47-Kentucky

48-Alabama

49-Mississippi

50-Louisiana

Other Notable States

14-Florida

20-North Carolina

25-Georgia

36-South Carolina