Palm Beach County is Among the Best for a Long & Healthy Life
Bottom Line: Palm Beach County is the 9th healthiest of Florida’s 67 counties according to the annual study entitled County Health Rankings & Roadmaps conducted by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. And while living in one of the healthiest counties in the state is nice, that only begins to scratch the surface of the bigger story. The study across all states compares health at the county level providing a view of where each county fits within each state but also how we compare nationally as well.
In Florida, and nationally, Palm Beach County currently ranks in the top quadrant for Health Factors and Health Outcomes meaning in an average across all factors that impact our overall health and wellbeing, we’re better off than at least three-quarters of the country for living a long and healthy life. And that’s shown in numerous ways. Here are some of the ways in which Palm Beach County ranks better than average right now:
- Obesity rate (13% less obesity)
- Food quality (we eat 17% healthier)
- Active lifestyle (14% more active)
- Excessive drinking (5% less)
- Sexual transmitted diseases (21% fewer)
- Teen births (21% fewer)
- Preventative hospital stays (6% fewer)
- Air pollution (10% lower)
There are others but you get a pretty clear picture of what’s better here than elsewhere and how we’re generally more effectively managing our health as well. And all of that culminates in longer lives as well. Residents of Palm Beach County are 7% more likely to live a longer, healthier life than most. We’re far from perfect and there are a few categories we’re below average in - specifically the percentage of those who are inactive, struggle with mental health outcomes and the amount of time we spend commuting. In general, though we don’t just have an opportunity to live in paradise, most often we’re taking advantage of it.