Although the results were far from perfect, we like a new survey of 100 urban up-and-coming communities by U.S. News & World Report that found Marquette County was rated the fifth healthiest of 100 urban up-and-coming communities.

The national review, dubbed the 2019 Healthiest Communities, was completed in collaboration with Aetna Foundation, a press release stated.

It was based on an examination of about 3,000 communities in 10 health-related categories using 81 metrics.

“Understanding the cultures of communities around the U.S. and how they can overcome obstacles to health and wellness is a key driver behind the U.S. News Healthiest Communities rankings, which allow residents to compare their communities with others across the nation of similar geographic status and economic strength,” the U.S. News report states. “Urban communities with up-and-coming economies may face complex challenges and have fewer resources available to try to improve residents’ health. But with these problems can come unique opportunities for innovation and collaboration that can be leveraged to improve health and wellness for all.”

Specifically, out of a possible 100 points for each category, we received 75 for population health; 64.1 for equity; 53.9 for education; 44.3 for economy; 44.9 for food and nutrition; 70.2 for environment, 74.8 for public safety, 49 for community vitality and 75.7 for infrastructure.

Helping influence the generally positive results was the fact that life expectancy in Marquette County is 79.3 years, just above the national median of 79 years. Around 5.4 percent of Marquette County residents don’t have health insurance, which is just under half of the national median of 9.9 percent uninsured. And the smoking rate in Marquette County is 17.2 percent, higher than the national median of 15.

So, as we said, by no means perfect but still plenty to be happy and proud about.