Kansas gains a spot in America’s Health Rankings, but challenges persist
Report cites strengths in volunteerism and low drug use; obesity, smoking and mental health remain key concerns
At a glance: Kansas has inched up in the latest edition of America’s Health Rankings, moving from 28th to 27th among the 50 states, according to the 2025 report.
More information: Elaine Johannes, 785-532-7720, ejohanne@ksu.edu
Related: America's Health Rankings
Volunteering in one's community has been shown to contribute to physical and mental health, says K-State community health expert Elaine Johannes.
March 2, 2026
By Pat Melgares, K-State Extension news service
MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Kansas has inched up in the latest edition of America’s Health Rankings, moving from 28th to 27th among the 50 states, according to the 2025 report released in December.
While the one-spot improvement may seem modest, Elaine Johannes, the Kansas Health Foundation Professor in Community Health at Kansas State University, said the annual report offers more than a pat on the back. It provides a road map for how communities, policymakers and health leaders can work together to improve overall well-being.
“America’s Health Rankings is a national report that comes out every year. It is a compilation of 31 national and state data sets,” Johannes said. “The United Health Foundation compiles the report, and it’s been around for years.”
Listen to an interview by Jeff Wichman with Elaine Johannes on the weekly radio program, Sound Living, produced by K-State Extension
The rankings are based on 55 metrics grouped into four broad categories: economic factors, physical environment, clinical care, and individual behaviors and a health outcomes category. Those categories align with the World Health Organization’s definition of health, which goes beyond the absence of disease.
“Their definition of health includes physical, mental, social and environmental (factors),” Johannes said. “It’s not just absence of disease. It’s evidence of health and wellness and the ability of people to thrive.”
Kansas’ current standing marks incremental progress, but it also reflects a long-term decline from its peak. In 1991, the state ranked eighth nationally.
“If we were in the top 10 for overall health around some of these indicators, that’s great, but we’ve gone down,” Johannes said. “We are working across different systems and groups, especially with leadership from the Kansas Health Foundation, to pull ourselves back up in those rankings.”
Among Kansas’ strengths are a low prevalence of non-medical drug use, a high rate of volunteerism and relatively low income inequality.
Johannes said volunteerism — where Kansas ranks fifth in the nation — is closely tied to health outcomes.
“There is research and there are reports about the more connected we are, (and) the more socially engaged we are as either workers or volunteers, the more mentally healthy we are and the more active we are,” she said. “There’s a physical health benefit (associated with volunteering).”
Kansas communities, particularly in smaller towns, have long traditions of civic engagement, from serving as 4-H leaders to sitting on city boards.
The state also fares comparatively well in limiting non-medical drug use. Johannes said that may reflect a combination of law enforcement, community support systems and volunteer efforts that help young people and families navigate difficult periods.
Income inequality is another relative strength.
“We’re all pretty much making income the best way we can, and it’s pretty level,” she said.
Still, the report highlights significant challenges. Kansas struggles with high rates of obesity and cigarette smoking and a low number of mental health providers per 100,000 residents.
The state’s obesity ranking dropped sharply, from 33rd in 2024 to 42nd in 2025.
“That’s quite a loss,” Johannes said.
Smoking and vaping remain persistent problems and may be linked to stress, policy enforcement, regulation and limited access to mental health services, she said. Fewer mental health providers can mean residents cope with stress in unhealthy ways.
Environmental factors also weigh on the state’s health profile. Air quality ranks relatively low compared to peer states. Johannes pointed to industrial emissions, exhaust, smoke and dust particularly during drought conditions, as contributors, along with high asthma rates among children.
Water quality, especially nitrate levels in private well water, is another concern.
The report also underscores challenges related to maternal mortality, low birth weight, infant mortality and adverse childhood experiences. Limited access to care in rural areas and among communities of color exacerbates those issues.
“These indicators aren’t for any one individual,” Johannes said. “They aren’t to help us diagnose ourselves. But they give us a sense of how our communities are as far as overall health and our population.”
Johannes said the rankings can help galvanize action across sectors, echoing themes in Kansas Health Foundation CEO Ed O’Malley’s 2025 book, “Leading Health.”
“Metrics matter if we can motivate change around them,” she said. “Look at these with a way to motivate change and improvement.”
Her advice: Focus locally.
“Pick something that matters to your community,” Johannes said. “Look at what are the risks. Who are the people who are most having difficulty, and work together.”
With strong philanthropic support, engaged universities, extension services and a tradition of volunteerism, Johannes said Kansas has the tools to climb higher.
“Some of us remember when we were eighth,” she said. “We can rise up again. Let’s be persistent. Use these reports as a motivator and start getting after it.”
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