Think you need to take better care of yourself? Locally, we’re actually doing better than many Pennsylvanians.

A recent study ranked each of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties in matters of health, and Lehigh and Northampton, which contain the state’s third largest metropolitan area - the Lehigh Valley - both finished toward the top third.

Lehigh County ranked 21, while Northampton County ranked 27. Union County and Philadelphia claimed the top and bottom, respectively, in the multi-year study.

The rankings, released in March, are compiled for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation by the University of Wisconsin’s School of Medicine and Public Health.

The study looked at two primary measures: health outcomes, which include the length and quality of life, and health factors, which include behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors, and physical environment.

The most recent numbers analyzed in the study are from 2012 or 2013.

Running along the middle of the road, both counties fall securely within a few points of the state average in most categories.

These include residents in poor or fair health, adult smoking, drinking, obesity and physical inactivity.

Broadly speaking, both counties are following national trends of increasing obesity and fairly static levels of inactivity in adults, though Lehigh has more recently improved where exercise is concerned.

Standout numbers for Lehigh County include higher than average sexually transmitted infections (441 over 431) and teen births (35 per 1,000 females over 28 per 1,000).

However, it also sees a better ratio of physicians and dentists to the given population.

The number of mental health providers, however, is somewhat lower than average (647:1 rather than 623:1 statewide).

In the social and economic factor categories, Lehigh is about average in the number of high school graduates and children who live in poverty. But it also suffers fewer than average violent crimes; 296 offenses per 100,000 people rather than 357.

Northampton County was not far from Lehigh statewide, and the categorical disparities are expectedly small, with behavior factors such as adult smoking, drinking, obesity and physical inactivity being nearly identical.

Compared with neighboring Lehigh County, Northampton needs more primary care physicians and dentists but has slightly better availability of mental health providers (529:1 versus 623:1 statewide).

Northampton’s high school graduation rate is just above average, 89 percent versus 85 percent and its number of children living in poverty are just below average, 13 percent versus 15 percent.

But one category in which Northampton County continues to excel is in its comparatively few violent crimes, at 197 annually, far less than the average 357. Northampton numbers 59th out of 67 counties and is mirroring national trends in falling or plateauing violent crime figures.

State Department of Health Press Secretary Amy Worden said her agency has programs aimed at improving Pennsylvanians’ health, including many of the measures cited in the County Health Rankings.

The Department of Health is responsible for The State Health Improvement Plan 2015-2020, which is Pennsylvania’s blueprint for health improvement. The plan identifies needs, resources and challenges that influence health outcomes through the use of public health information and data and focuses on obesity, physical inactivity and nutrition; primary care and preventive services; and mental health and substance use, Worden said.

“We also maintain the Pennsylvania State Health Assessment, which provides a ‘one-stop’ summary of information on health status, health risks and health care services in Pennsylvania. It identifies areas for health improvement; determines factors that contribute to health issues; and identifies assets and resources that can be mobilized to address population health improvement,” she said.

The Department of Health also has The Health Improvement Partnership Program, which supports a statewide health improvement network of partners and provides a forum for these partners to receive public health improvement messages, health improvement education and health improvement best practices.

The entire study and rankings can be viewed at countyhealthrankings.org/app/pennsylvania/2015/overview.