Politics & Government
Our Health Ranks Among California's Best
According to a new report, Santa Clara County is the second healthiest county in California.
Los Altos recently from Santa Clara County for its ordinance banning smoking in its parks, and perhaps that's one of the reasons the county as a whole is one of the healthiest of all of California.
County Health Rankings & Roadmaps released its 2012 report on the state of health nationwide on Tuesday, and the results are promising regarding locals and their overall constitution.
According to the report, Santa Clara County is the second healthiest county of the 56 ranked counties in California. See the rest of the top 10 below and click the map to the right to see the color-coded state with complete county rankings.
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1. Marin
2. Santa Clara
3. San Benito
4. Placer
5. San Mateo
6. Orange
7. Yolo
8. Nevada
9. El Dorado
10. Santa Cruz
The report is broken down into several categories, each with a handful of subcategories. The section in which Santa Clara County really shines is what they call "Mortality," where locals rank second in the whole state. Included in the "Mortality" section is premature death, or death before age 75.
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The county's lowest-rated category is "Physical Environment," for which it is ranked 22nd in the state. The subcategories there include air pollution-particulate matter days, air pollution-ozone days, access to recreational facilities, limited access to healthy foods and fast food restaurants.
See the complete breakdown of the health of Santa Clara County compared the state average and national benchmark below. The national benchmark is the desired national rate for each category. Less than 10 percent of counties nationwide meet the national benchmark.
Explanations for unclear categories can be found below the chart.
Category Santa Clara County National Benchmark California Average Premature Death 4,052 5,466 5,922 Poor or Fair Health 15% 10% 19% Poor Physical Health Days 3.1 2.6 3.7 Poor Mental Health Days 2.7 2.3 3.6 Low Birthweight6.5%
Category Explanations:
Premature Death: Years of potential life lost before age 75 per 100,000 population
Poor Physical/Mental Health Days: Average per 30 days
Physical Inactivity: Percent of adults reporting no physical activity
Motor Vehicle Crash Death Rate: Deaths per 100,000 population
Sexually Transmitted Infections: Chlamydia rate per 100,000 population
Teen Birth Rate: Per 1,000 teen girls
Violent Crime Rate: Per 100,000 population
Air Pollution Days: Annual number of unhealthy air days
Access to Recreational Facilities: Facilities per 100,000 people
Limited Access to Healthy Foods: Population percent who are low income and do not live near a grocery store
Need explanations on other categories? Ask in the comments.
What do you make of the county health rankings? Are you impressed by our air quality? Depressed by our violent crime and bevy of fast food restaurants? Tell us in the comments!
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