U.S. News and World Report just released their annual ranking of America’s Healthiest Communities and three counties in Minnesota ranked near the top. One of those counties is here in southeast Minnesota. Now, you might immediately think it's Olmsted because of the Mayo Clinic, but you'd be wrong.

These rankings are based on way more than physical and mental health - they also looked at the health of the local economy and much more. 89 different factors were evaluated when ranking the health of America's counties including education, economy, community vitality, equity, infrastructure and public safety. Check out which Minnesota counties landed in the top 25 below.

Three Minnesota Counties Among the Healthiest In The Country

#25 Washington County, Minnesota 

Washington county, population 267,568, scored well with economy, infrastructure, and population health. Stillwater is the county seat.

Washington county, Minnesota was named the 25th healthiest county in America.

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#23 Dodge County, Minnesota

Dodge county was ranked 23rd and scored well in the infrastructure, equity, community vitality categories.

Dodge county's population is 20,867

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#5 Carver County, Minnesota

Carver County was the highest ranked Minnesota county coming in at number 5.

Carver county, population 106,922, received a great score in the economy, population health, and education categories.

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Several counties in neighboring states landed in the top 25. You can read the full report here. Los Alamos County, New Mexico was named the healthiest in the United States.

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The 25 Best Places to Live in Minnesota

Stacker compiled a list of the best places to live in Minnesota using data from Niche. Niche ranks places to live based on a variety of factors including cost of living, schools, health care, recreation, and weather. Cities, suburbs, and towns were included. Listings and images are from realtor.com.

On the list, there's a robust mix of offerings from great schools and nightlife to high walkability and public parks. Some areas have enjoyed rapid growth thanks to new businesses moving to the area, while others offer glimpses into area history with well-preserved architecture and museums. Keep reading to see if your hometown made the list.

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