2015 County Health Rankings: Key Findings Report

A rich resource of local-level data, the Rankings are an easy-to-use snapshot comparing the health of nearly every county in the nation. The Rankings allow each state to see how its counties compare on 30 factors that impact health, including education, transportation, housing, violent crime, jobs, diet and exercise. This year's Rankings show that almost one out of four children in the U.S. lives in poverty. Child poverty rates are more than twice as high in the unhealthiest counties in each state than in the healthiest counties. The report also looks at distribution in income and the links between income levels and health.In this report the 2015 County Health Rankings show that premature deaths are dropping, with 60 percent of the nation's counties seeing declines. For instance, in the District of Columbia premature death rates have plummeted by nearly one-third based on data from 2004-2006 and 2010-2012. This marks the highest drop in the country for counties with populations of 65,000 or more. But for many counties these rates are not improving -- forty percent of counties are not making progress in reducing premature deaths

2014 Rankings: Key Findings Report

The County Health Rankings & Roadmaps program helps communities identify and implement solutions that make it easier for people to be healthy in their schools, workplaces, and neighborhoods. Ranking the health of nearly every county in the nation, the County Health Rankings illustrate what we know when it comes to what is making people sick or healthy. The Roadmaps show what we can do to create healthier places to live, learn, work, and play. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) collaborates with the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute (UWPHI) to bring this program to cities, counties, and states across the nation. Now in its fifth year, the County Health Rankings continue to bring actionable data to communities across the nation. Based on data available, the Rankings are unique in their ability to measure the overall health of each county in all 50 states on the many factors that influence health. They have been used to garner support among government agencies, healthcare providers, community organizations, business leaders, policymakers, and the public for local health improvement initiatives. We compile the Rankings using county-level measures from a variety of national data sources which can be found on page 10. These measures are standardized and combined using scientifically-informed weights. We then rank counties by state, providing two overall ranks: 1. Health outcomes: how healthy a county is now? 2. Health factors: how healthy a county will be in the future? We report these ranks at countyhealthrankings.org, along with all the underlying measures for this year and prior years. We also provide tools to help communities use their data to identify opportunities for improvement and guidance to help them act and improve their health. This document includes: A. A summary of our key national findings B. Information on key measures C. Information on new measures D. Healthiest and least healthy counties in each state E. Comparison of top 10 percent healthiest and bottom 10 percent least healthy counties F. Listing of measures and data source

Ranking Community Health Status to Stimulate Discussion of Local Public Health Issues: The Wisconsin County Health Rankings

United Health Foundation’s America’s Health Rankings, which ranks the states from “least healthy” to “healthiest,” receives wide press coverage and promotes discussion of public health issues. The University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute used the United Health Foundation’s model to develop the Wisconsin County Health Rankings (“Health Rankings”) from existing county-level data. The institute first released the rankings in 2004. A survey of the Wisconsin county health officers indicated that they intend to use the rankings for needs assessment, program planning, and discussion with county health boards. The institute implemented many of the health officers’ suggestions for improvement of the rankings in subsequent editions. The methods employed to create the rankings should be applicable in other states