NEW ORLEANS – Louisiana ranks last among the 50 states in the America’s Health Rankings 2025 Annual Report, highlighting persistent public health challenges across social, economic and clinical measures. The report, which was released Jan. 8, evaluates 99 indicators of health and well-being drawn from 31 data sources to provide a comprehensive snapshot of health conditions nationwide and at the state level.
New Hampshire ranked as the healthiest state, followed by Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut and Utah. Louisiana ranked last overall, preceded by Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama and West Virginia.
Louisiana’s Overall Health Profile
Louisiana’s overall health score placed the state 50th nationwide, reflecting long-standing challenges across multiple indicators. Key findings include:
- 15.7% of adults are current smokers, exceeding national benchmarks
- 43.3% of adults report high health status, based on self-rated surveys
- 16.1% of adults have been diagnosed with diabetes
- 12,180 years of potential life lost per 100,000 residents, reflecting elevated premature mortality
- 3,379 preventable hospital discharges per 100,000 residents, tied to conditions typically avoidable with effective outpatient care
- Among adults 65 and older, physical inactivity rose from 31.5% to 40.4%
Outside the Rankings data, recent reports estimate Louisiana’s adult obesity rate at 39.2%, highlighting the scale of behavioral and chronic health challenges facing the state.
Areas of Improvement
Despite its last-place overall ranking, the report identifies several areas where Louisiana has made measurable gains.
Louisiana ranked 12th nationally for cancer screenings, outperforming the national average. About 67.6% of women ages 40 to 74 reported receiving a mammogram within the past two years, and a similar share of adults ages 45 to 75 reported being up to date on colorectal cancer screenings. That figure exceeds the national average of 64.5% and represents a notable increase from 59.5% in 2022, an 8.1 percentage-point gain over two years.
Access to routine care also showed modest improvement. About 86.8% of Louisianans reported having a regular health care provider, ranking the state 14th nationally and exceeding the national average of 83.9%. The figure ticked up slightly from 86.3% in 2023, suggesting gradual progress in continuity of care.
The America’s Health Rankings report also points to a decline in violent injury deaths, even as Louisiana continues to rank near the bottom nationally. The state ranked 49th for deaths due to injuries inflicted by another person, at 17.8 deaths per 100,000 residents, down from 19.6 per 100,000 reported in the previous reporting period — a decrease of 2.2 deaths per 100,000 people.
Behavioral and Chronic Health Indicators
Several individual measures help explain Louisiana’s low overall ranking.
Nearly 15% of adults reported frequent physical distress, with many saying they experienced poor physical health on numerous days over the course of a month. This means that for nearly one in seven adults, poor physical health was not just an occasional issue but a recurring part of their daily life.
Despite years of public health campaigns, smoking remains common among Louisiana adults, with nearly 16% reporting current tobacco use, a factor tied to elevated rates of heart disease, cancer and early mortality.
Obesity continues to shape Louisiana’s health profile, contributing to a cascade of chronic conditions, including diabetes and heart disease, that weigh heavily on long-term health outcomes.
Cost-Related Barriers
The America’s Health Rankings report also points to cost-related barriers to care as a significant factor shaping health outcomes in Louisiana. A growing share of adults report delaying or avoiding medical care due to cost, a trend associated with later diagnoses, worsening chronic conditions and increased reliance on emergency and inpatient services. Public health researchers note that delayed care not only drives up long-term healthcare costs, but also contributes to missed work, reduced productivity and higher rates of preventable hospitalizations.
Health and Economic Outcomes
National analysis included in the report shows a strong relationship between population health and economic performance. Residents of healthier states earn up to $27,000 more annually than those in less healthy states. Healthier states also experience 4% lower unemployment and 11% lower poverty rates.
These trends suggest Louisiana’s poor health outcomes are closely tied to broader economic and workforce challenges, including lower earnings, higher unemployment and reduced productivity. Delayed care due to cost further compounds these effects by increasing illness severity and workforce absenteeism.
America’s Health Rankings – National Trends
At the national level, the 2025 report points to measured progress, tempered by lingering challenges. Between 2022 and 2023, premature death declined 8%, while the drug death rate fell 3%, marking the first national improvement in overdose deaths since 2018.
Preventive care also showed gains, with cancer screenings rising 15% between 2022 and 2024, reflecting increased uptake in both rural and metropolitan communities.
Other indicators, however, tell a more complex story. Physical inactivity declined 10% nationwide, reaching its healthiest level since tracking began in 1996, suggesting progress in everyday health behaviors. At the same time, the share of adults living with multiple chronic conditions increased 6%, while obesity rates showed little movement. Tobacco use continued to shift, with cigarette smoking declining 4%, even as e-cigarette use rose 4%, highlighting changing — rather than disappearing — public health risks.
Together, the gains demonstrate how targeted improvements can coexist with deeper structural challenges and how sustained progress will require building on what is working while addressing persistent gaps.
Looking Ahead
Louisiana’s position at the bottom of the 2025 America’s Health Rankings rankings highlights the close connection between health outcomes, access to care and socioeconomic conditions. Public health experts say sustained improvement will require coordinated strategies addressing poverty, insurance coverage, chronic disease prevention and community health infrastructure. Without such interventions, the report suggests, poor health will continue to weigh on both quality of life and economic opportunity across the state.
