Health in Jackson County trails nearby neighbors in Missouri, according to new report
Health in Jackson County trails behind neighboring areas in the metro, according to a report released Wednesday.
The county ranked 53rd out of Missouri’s 114 counties, while Platte County was No. 1, Clay County was No. 3 and Cass County was No. 13, the 2022 County Health Rankings report said.
Pemiscot County, in the Missouri Boothell, came in last.
The report is published annually by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. Researchers analyze both health outcomes, defined as the overall health of a county, and health factors, which look at measures that impact the future health of communities like high school graduation rates and access to nutritious food.
While Jackson County continues to lag behind other places in the metro, it has made significant gains: In 2013, it placed 78th in health outcomes and 81st in health factors. Last year, Jackson County ranked 63rd in health outcomes and 49th in health factors.
In the past 10 years, Cass, Clay and Platte counties have consistently ranked in the top 20 counties with Platte County snagging the No. 1 spot in at least one of the two health categories six times.
In the 2022 report, Missouri had higher rates of violent crime and injury deaths compared to the U.S. There were 8,900 years of potential life lost before age 75 per 100,000 population in Missouri, compared to 7,300 in the U.S. That figure takes into account COVID-19 deaths.
Missourians had a slightly higher number of poor mental health days at 4.9, compared to 4.5 in the U.S. The state also had higher rates of obesity, smoking, teen births and air pollution.
Missouri is on par with the rest of the nation in the percentage of people under age 18 in poverty at 16%, and came in better on high school completion, housing and commute times.
This story was originally published April 27, 2022 at 3:30 PM.
