County by County Blog

Project updates, commentaries, events and news about health across the nation from the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps team.

New Web App: County Health Calculator

Publication date
March 25, 2011

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation along with the Virginia Commonwealth University’s Center on Human Needs today unveiled the County Health Calculator to further illustrate the connection between social factors and health. The County Health Calculator is an interactive, online app that shows – for the U.S., states or counties – the impact that education and income have on health and well-being. The Calculator explores how many premature deaths could be avoided in communities if more people had the better health that is so strongly linked with more education and higher income.

For example, if adults in Wyandotte, Kansas – where 39% have some college education – had the same education levels as the top county in the state – Johnson at 78% – more than one out of three deaths (38%) could be averted per year.

In Philadelphia, more than 500 lives could be saved each year by a 15 percentage point increase in the number of people with a basic income – and the better living conditions, education and health that go with it.

START HERE: Find your county at countyhealthcalculator.org

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