BELLINGHAM, It is no secret that a fair amount of Whatcom County residents care about good health.

And an annual study shows that people who live here are still among some of the healthiest in Washington state.

The Robertwood Johnson Foundation has ranked Whatcom County as the 11th healthiest out of all 39 counties in the state.

Their report found that fewer adults are obese or unemployed, and more people have gotten involved in social groups within the community.

Last year, Whatcom ranked 7th in Washington.

But COVID-19’s impact on mental health was highlighted as a point of improvement, with more people reporting an uptick in “bad mental health days” over the past year.