McLean County ranks 14th out of 102 counties in Illinois in an annual health study, a slight improvement from last year when the county ranked 15th.
The study compiles data on more than 90 factors, including health behaviors, clinical care and socioeconomics.
The study gives McLean County high marks for life expectancy (79.4 years), health insurance coverage (5% under 65 uninsured), and low teen births (10 per 100,000 females ages 15-19).
McLean County also scores well in many socioeconomic factors. It has high rates for high school completion (96%) graduation and low rates for unemployment (4.6%) and children in poverty (12%), compared with state and national averages.
The county also scored well for rates of mammography screenings (52%) and flu vaccinations (61%).
Data also show the county has a high rate of income inequality, along with higher-than-average rates of adult obesity (36%), adult smoking (16%), and sexually transmitted infections (594 per 100,000 population).
“What resources we have in our community and how well we utilize those resources has a direct impact on building and improving community health,” said McLean County Health Department (MCHD) Administrator Jessica McKnight. “McLean County places a high priority on creating and promoting such resources. But we can always do better, and the County Health Rankings report is a helpful tool that measures the effectiveness of our efforts.”
Much of the data is from 2020, so it does not show the full impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
McLean County also fared better than most of its neighbors: Tazewell County (No. 15), Champaign County (No. 30), Ford County (No. 33), DeWitt County (No. 65), Livingston County (No. 75). Woodford County was the only nearby county that was rated higher than McLean (No. 10).
The county health rankings are compiled by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.
