Baltimore is the least healthy jurisdiction in Maryland followed by several Eastern Shore counties, according to an annual ranking that has changed little over the past several years despite improvements in some of the city's worst statistics.

Wealthier suburban counties such as Montgomery and Howard were ranked as the healthiest in the state.

The 2016 rankings by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin show a striking gap in the rate of premature death between the healthiest and least healthy areas of the state. Those living in Baltimore lost three and a half times the number of years of life than those in Howard.

The findings were not surprising to public health officials in Baltimore who have sought for years to reduce disparities not only between the city and surrounding counties but between well off and disadvantaged neighborhoods within the city.

"This affirms what we know in public health to be true, that the currency of inequality is years of life," said Dr. Leana Wen, Baltimore's health commissioner. "Access to healthcare is important, but what determines how long someone lives and quality of life depends much more on things around them like access to housing and education and income inequality."

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