Community Corner

We're (Partially) No. 1! DuPage Has Lowest Mortality, Best Health Behaviors and Best Clinical Care in Illinois

But moderate rankings in two other categories mean that the county ranks only sixth healthiest overall in the state, a new report shows.

DuPage County is the sixth healthiest of Illinois’ 102 counties and ranks first in three categories, according to a national study released on Wednesday by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute (UWPHI).

The study found that DuPage has the lowest rate of premature death, the best heath behaviors and the best clinical care of any county in Illinois. However, the rankings for morbidity (25th of 102) and physical environment (64th of 102) brought the county’s overall rank down to sixth, behind Douglas, Jo Daviess, Woodford, Mercer and Henry.

“The County Health Rankings shows that how long and how well people live depends on multiple factors beyond just their access to medical care,” a RWJF press release explained. 

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“It examines 25 factors that influence health, including rates of childhood poverty, rates of smoking, obesity levels, teen birth rates, access to physicians and dentists, rates of high school graduation and college attendance, access to healthy foods, levels of physical inactivity, and percentages of children living in single parent households.”

DuPage was better than the Illinois state average in every category measured, except for percent of restaurants that are fast-food (54 percent versus a state average of 50 percent).

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It ties in percent of people with limited access to healthy food (4 percent), drinking water safety (3 percent exposed to water violating standards), fine particulate matter (12.3 PM2.5) and rates of excessive drinking of alcohol (20 percent).

The county edged neighboring Kendall (seventh) and beat out all other neighbors as well, including Kane (12th), Will (25th) and Cook (78th).


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