New report assesses health in every U.S. county

A new report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has ranked the health of every county in the United States.

The counties are ranked within their states based on the rate of people dying before age 75, the percentage of people reporting fair or poor health, the number of days people reported being in poor physical or mental health, and the rate of low-weight births. The research also gathered data on a number of factors that could affect health, including smoking, obesity, binge drinking, access to primary care, high school graduation, violent crime, air pollution, liquor store density, unemployment and the number of children living in poverty.

The study found that healthier counties tended to have more residents who were educated and employed, with access to primary care, healthy food and recreational facilities. Suburban and urban counties were also more likely to be healthy than rural counties, reported the Feb. 17 BusinessWeek. The research found significant disparities, even among neighboring counties, with unhealthy counties having double or triple the rates of premature death compared to the healthier counties.

The report is intended to mobilize community leaders to take action to make their counties healthier, according to a press release. A previous similar project in Kansas, for example, motivated efforts to improve urban residents' access to healthy food shopping. The county-by-county data are available online.