Sarasota County can still boast it's in the top five counties in Florida on the annual health rankings report from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.
But Pinellas County didn't score as well as last year, dropping seven spots to 38th.
The study, now in its fourth year, looks at health outcomes and health factors. See how each of Florida's 67 counties rank here.
Researchers say the rankings are just a starting place.
"It gives us a snapshot of where we can probably focus some of our efforts a little bit more to really try to move that needle around in building healthy communities," said Dr. Roderick K. King of the Florida Public Health Institute.
"The large role that social and economic factors play in each county's ranking means that public health must partner with other agencies in the community to improve those numbers," said Pinellas County Health Department Director Dr. Claude M. Dharamraj in a news release.
Other counties around Tampa Bay that slid in the rankings are Citrus, Hardee, Hernando, Manatee, Pasco and Sarasota. Meanwhile, DeSoto County zoomed up 15 slots to rank 13th, while Hillsborough inched up one space to 31st. Sumter and Polk also moved up a couple of slots.
St. John’s County, where St. Augustine is the largest town, earned the number one spot for the second year in a row.
