County Residents Have Healthiest Year Yet, Study Says

It's not just diet and exercise—where people live matters to their health.

When it comes to community health, San Mateo County is among the best in the state, according to the 2013 County Health Rankings released this week.

San Mateo comes in No. 4 in the state for health outcomes, measured by mortality and morbidity. The county ranks third for health factors, a broad category that includes health behaviors (like smoking), healthcare, the physical environment, and social and economic factors.

San Mateo's ratings have been been high since the study began four years ago, but 2013 is the county's best performance.

Fifty-seven of California's 58 counties were ranked. Rural Alpine County was too small to measure in many of the categories, officials said.

Nearby Marin County was rated the healthiest county in the state in the 2013 report.

County Health Rankings 2013 County Health Outcomes Health Factors Marin 1 1 Santa Clara 4 3 San Mateo 4 3

Check out Santa Mateo County's rankings in various categories over the past four years below. A lower rating is better. See more here.

San Mateo County Health Rankings 2010 2011 2012 2013 Health Outcomes (total) 5
5
5 4 Mortality 3
3
3 4 Morbidity 15
17
19 18 Health Factors (total) 4
4
3 3 Health Behaviors 7
11
11
5 Clinical Care 9 5 6 4
Social & Economic Factors 5 6
3
3
Physical Environment 7
8
12
4

Some highlights from the 2013 report:

• 87 percent of adults in San Mateo have graduated from high school. Statewide, just 76 percent of adults are high school graduates.
• 13 percent of San Mateo County residents are lacked health insurance, compared to 21 percent statewide.
• the unemployment rate in San Mateo County was 7.9 percent, well below the state average of 11.7 percent.

Ten percent of children in San Mateo County live in poverty in 2013 and 20 percent of adults are obese, according to the study.

The County Health Rankings & Roadmaps program began in 2010 as a project of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin.

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