What’s in the water in North Carolina?! Researchers at Marian University in Indiana ranked 100 cities in America where people are most and least likely to come down with a cold or the flu based on health and demographic data.
Three cities in North Carolina made the top 10, including one that ranked first.
(The team ranked the cities by analyzing and assigning scores to a variety of factors known to cause winter illnesses, such as cold temperatures, air quality, population, and the number of children - who have weaker immune systems and are more likely to pass germs around.)
Wilmington, North Carolina was the least illness-prone city on the list.
With 122,000 residents, the researchers said the low population density and balmy weather could help ward off germs.
Madison, Wisconsin and Honolulu, Hawaii followed close behind. Raleigh, North Carolina and San Jose, California rounded out the top five.
On the flip side, Bakersfield, California was the germiest city in the country, which experts blamed on low flu vaccination rates, poor air quality, and a high population of adults with weak immune systems.