Study: Ozaukee is the healthiest county in Wisconsin, Milwaukee again ranks near the bottom
MEQUON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- It might look like any other road, but the stretch of County Line Road that forms Mequon's southern border divides Wisconsin's healthiest county from one of the state's least healthy counties.
University of Wisconsin researchers on Wednesday released their annual report on county-level health rankings for the entire nation. Focusing on Wisconsin's 72 counties, the criteria used by UW-Madison's Population Health Institute once again ranked Ozaukee County first.
Since the university began compiling its annual county health rankings in 2011, Ozaukee County has been the state's healthiest in all but two years.
At Spanky's Hideaway, which sits on the Ozaukee County side of County Line Road, Genia Davidson enjoyed a salad for lunch with her coworkers. The Mequon resident said she was surprised at researchers' conclusion her county was Wisconsin's healthiest.
"Because there's so many [counties] and I would've thought there's other counties, like Dane, potentially, that were better," Davidson said. "But it's nice to hear."
On the other side of the road, Milwaukee County ranked 70th out of the state's 72 counties. Menominee County, home to the Menominee Indian Tribe, again was found to have the poorest health outcomes in Wisconsin.
Among the counties in Southeast Wisconsin, the rankings ran the entire spectrum with a clear pattern -- suburban counties fared well, while those home to large urban centers did not:
- Ozaukee - 1st
- Waukesha - 2nd
- Washington - 5th
- Jefferson - 15th
- Walworth - 28th
- Dodge - 37th
- Kenosha - 55th
- Racine - 61st
- Milwaukee - 70th
The full report took into account more than 80 different factors, including economic status, physical health, mental health, education and public safety.
Researchers this year said they had a new emphasis: civic health. That category was made up of what researchers called civic infrastructure and civic participation.
Infrastructure included access to things that connect a community, such as broadband, libraries and parks. Participation weighed voter participation, volunteering and mentoring.
"Communities that offer places to gather, and encourage voting and participation in civic life, also experience things like less income inequality and children living in poverty that we know are associated with better health," Sheri Johnson, director of the UW-Madison Population Health Institute, said.
Upon hearing the criteria researchers used, Davidson said she's been amazed by the growth around the Mequon condo she bought in 2016.
"It's something I notice about where, for me, it's literally like I drive four or five blocks, or walk four or five blocks, and I can go to the library, I can go vote," she said. "Because all that stuff is so close and convenient, for me at least."