Study Ranks Illinois' Healthiest Counties

Woodford, Kendall, and DuPage counties ranked as the state’s top three healthiest counties

Where you live could determine how long you live, according to a recent health study.

The 2014 County Health Rankings, which rank counties based on how healthy residents are and how long they will live, was released Wednesday by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and some Chicagoans may not be so pleased by their findings.

Cook County ranked 75th out of the 102 counties in Illinois, while Woodford, Kendall, and DuPage counties ranked as the state’s top three healthiest counties.

Among the least healthy counties were Franklin, Gallatin and Alexander.

The study looked at 29 “health factors,” including high school graduation rates, access to healthy foods, rates of smoking and obesity, and teen births.

In Cook County, 17 percent of residents were listed in "poor or fair health," while in DuPage County, that number dropped to 12 percent.

The healthiest counties in the nation averaged at 10 percent of residents in "poor or fair health."

Data from counties across the nation showed that residents in least healthy counties were twice as likely to live shorter lives than people in the healthiest counties.

Least healthy counties have twice the death rates and twice as many children living in poverty and teen births compared to the nation’s healthiest counties, researchers said.

For a full ranking of Illinois counties click here.

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