Community Corner

Report Finds McHenry County Residents Among Healthiest in State

The report found that the county on average reported more binge drinking and smoking than was reported statewide and nationally.

McHenry County residents have one of the highest mortality rates in the state, according to a recent health report.

The University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation released the report -- titled 2011 County Health Rankings -- last week, which gauges the health of counties throughout the nation.

Out of the 102 counties in Illinois, McHenry County ranked fourth for health outcomes, which determines how healthy a county is in regards to morbidity and mortality. The county ranked seventh when measuring health factors, which looks at what influences a county’s health and behaviors, such as clinical care, social and economic factors and physical environment, according to a McHenry County Health Department press release.

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Other counties that ranked in the top five for health outcomes include, in order of healthiest: Kendall County, DuPage County, Woodford County and Jo Daviess County. The top five counties for health factors are DuPage, Monroe, Kendall, Lake and Woodford counties.

The County Health Rankings report is in its second year and considered the most comprehensive of its kind at ranking overall health throughout the United States by “using a standard way to measure how healthy people are and how long they live,” according to the news release.

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“Local health departments are part of a larger public health system.  The Rankings help support important work that already is going on in McHenry County every day”, said Patrick J. McNulty, Public Health Administrator for MCDH in the press release.  

Here are some of the key findings from the report:

  • McHenry County has the third highest mortality rate in the state. McHenry County recorded 4,915 premature deaths compared to 5,564 nationally and 6,859 throughout Illinois. A premature death is considered any death that occurs before the age of 75 years.
  • Adult smoking and excessive drinking in McHenry County was found to be above the state and national average. Twenty-three percent of adults reported smoking in McHenry County, 15 percent nationally and 21 percent in Illinois. Meanwhile, 20 percent of McHenry County residents reported excessive drinking, which was close to the state average of 19 percent, but far above the national average of 8 percent.
  • In McHenry County, 39 percent of residents paid high housing costs, which is determined to be 30 percent or more of a household's income that goes toward paying for a mortgage or rent. The statewide average is 37 percent.
  • The median household income in McHenry County is $79,656 while the statewide average is $56,230.
  • The percent of people that report taking part in no physical activity during their leisure time is the same in McHenry County as it is throughout the state: 23 percent.
  • Unemployment numbers for McHenry County and the state of Illinois are almost twice that of the national average. The report found 9.7 percent of McHenry County residents were unemployed, 10.1 percent in the state and 5.3 nationally.
  • The violent crime rate, number of single parent households and amount of children in poverty in McHenry County is also well below the state's mark. The report found 6 percent of children in poverty in the county, with 17 percent statewide and 11 percent nationwide; 17 percent of children raised by single-parent households in the county, compared to 20 percent nationally and 31 percent statewide; and McHenry County was given a violent crime rate of 151, while the nation was given a ranking of 100 and the state received a ranking of 550.
  • McHenry County has a liquor store density of 9 while the state has a liquor store density of 10. The density is measured by the amount of liquor stores for every 100,000 residents.


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