BRIGHT SPOT
‘Atomic City’ scores 100 points in US News and World Report
SANTA FE — Los Alamos County is the healthiest community among 3,000 counties or county equivalents in America, according to U.S. News and World Report. After placing third in the rankings in 2018 and a close second last year, the so-called Atomic City — though it’s really a county and not a city — broke though, blowing past Douglas County, Colorado. Los Alamos had placed right behind Douglas County, just north of Denver, the past two years.
As the top-ranked community, Los Alamos’s score was 100 points, while Douglas County ranked second with a score of 91.5. Falls Church, Virginia, rounded out the top three, with a score of 91.2.
In last year’s rankings, Douglas County scored 100, while Los Alamos was runner-up, with 99.6.
“We feel very humble; very fortunate,” Sara Scott, chairwoman of the Los Alamos County Council, said when asked what it meant for the community to earn the honor. “It’s nice to be recognized for something that this community values.”
U.S. News and World Report, in collaboration with the health care company Aetna, applied 84 metrics it says “form the foundation of community well-being” to render results. They also took into account “economic, educational and environmental factors, as well as social determinants of health.”
Among the major categories measured were population health, equity, education, economy, housing, food and nutrition, and community
vitality.
Los Alamos scored best in the population health category, which looked at life expectancy, smoking rates and population with no health insurance. It also got high marks for housing and environment.
Los Alamos had the lowest score of any of the top 10 communities in the category of food and nutrition. But it was still better than the national average in the three key metrics of obesity prevalence, diabetes prevalence and the number of food outlets per 100,000 people.
The published article featuring Los Alamos by U.S. News and World Report staff writer Gaby Galvin begins by referencing Los Alamos’s history as a secret city where the first atomic bomb was developed.
“And the area’s early draw — its educated population, well-paying jobs and active lifestyles — all have coalesced to make Los Alamos County America’s healthiest community,” it says.
The article says that 39% of county residents have a master’s or other advanced degree, its median income is among the highest in the country and that nearly everyone has health insurance.
The article also gets into the bountiful recreational opportunities.
“Loving the outdoors is almost a prerequisite to living in Los Alamos County,” it says. “Most homes are within a few minutes of a trailhead, and the county operates an outdoor ice rink, a golf course and an Olympic-size swimming pool where people can take $5 fitness classes.”
The story quotes Los Alamos resident Geoffrey Steeves saying that it’s not unusual to have a “two-helmet day” — skiing in the morning and kayaking in the afternoon.
Amy Regan says she and her husband participate in triathlons and work for the local ski patrol. The live in White Rock and say it’s a “fabulous” place to raise their three children and “super safe.”
“If you like big cities, traffic and the headaches that come with that, this isn’t a great place to go,” she said.
Los Alamos resident Whitney Spivey, a member of the U.S. National Snowshoe Racing Team, says she loves living in Los Alamos because it’s not pretentious.
“There are very smart people in this town, and a lot of them do have money, and they’re driving 10-year-old Subarus and they’re living in government housing from the 1950s. And life is good,” she said.
The article notes that New Mexico is the secondpoorest state in the union and contrasts Los Alamos with surrounding counties Rio Arriba, Sandoval and Santa Fe. All of them have higher poverty rates, unhealthier populations and shorter life expectancy than Los Alamos.
“These communities,” it says, referring to neighboring counties, “are also more ethnically diverse than Los Alamos, which, like other counties that have placed No. 1 in previous U.S. News Healthiest Communities rankings, is predominantly white.”
Los Alamos was the only New Mexico community to place in the top 500 of the 3,000 counties or county equivalents U.S. News and World Report posted with a story published last month.
But scores were available to search on its website. Sandoval County’s score was 56. Bernalillo and Taos counties were each at 47. Valencia County’s score was 35.
While County Council chairwoman Scott says there’s a lot to like in the report, she looks to see what Los Alamos can do to become even better.
“For me, the value was looking through the criteria and different metrics. Here’s some good things and things that we were recognized for, but also to contemplate how we’re doing in some of these other areas.”