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Oldham Is Kentucky's Healthiest County. (Jefferson County Isn't Even Close.)

Oldham is the healthiest county in Kentucky. The least healthy? Floyd County in eastern Kentucky.The ranking of health outcomes among Kentucky's 120 counties considers tobacco use, diet and exercise, access to healthcare and other factors. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute did the analysis.Jefferson County ranked 30th. Shelby County ranked third and Bullitt County ranked 25th.The other least healthy counties just above Floyd are Perry, Breathitt, Wolfe and Lee, the rankings said.The rankings for all 120 counties in Kentucky—and for other states—can be found here.Some interesting things to consider from the rankings:

  • Four of the 10 healthiest counties are in the top 10 for income—Oldham, Boone, Spencer and Scott. And four of the 10 least healthy counties are in the bottom 10 for income—Breathitt, Wolfe, Lee and Clay.
  • Oldham, Boone and Jefferson counties topped the rankings for access to care, but Oldham and Jefferson ranked eighth and ninth, respectively, in quality of care. Casey, Todd and Metcalfe counties were on the bottom.
  • Trimble, Owsley and Knott topped the ranking for community safety; Fayette, Jefferson and Kenton were on the bottom.
  • Oldham, Scott and Shelby counties topped the ranking for mortality (in the good way); Breathitt, Wolfe and Perry were on the bottom. 
  • Most of Kentucky's least healthy counties were clustered in eastern Kentucky; the healthiest were clustered around Louisville, central Kentucky and northern Kentucky. In the graphic below, from the study, the darker green means a lower ranking.

Oldham was ranked Kentucky's healthiest county last year, too."This information can be used to frame further community discussions as we move forward in building a healthier Kentucky," Public Health Commissioner Stephanie Mayfield Gibson said in a statement.In Indiana's 92, Harrison ranked 25th, Clark ranked 56th, Floyd ranked 60th and Scott ranked 92—last.Here's how Kentucky's counties rank in health, according to the study. All 120 of them

  1. Oldham
  2. Boone
  3. Shelby
  4. Lyon
  5. Spencer
  6. Washington
  7. Scott
  8. Fayette
  9. Calloway
  10. Hancock
  11. Woodford
  12. Jessamine
  13. Hardin
  14. Larue
  15. Warren
  16. Campbell
  17. Anderson
  18. Meade
  19. Madison
  20. Owen
  21. Kenton
  22. Daviess
  23. Nelson
  24. Boyle
  25. Bullitt
  26. Henry
  27. Simpson
  28. Hart
  29. Franklin
  30. Jefferson
  31. Taylor
  32. Ohio
  33. Graves
  34. Marshall
  35. Logan
  36. Garrard
  37. McCracken
  38. Rowan
  39. Marion
  40. Mercer
  41. Bracken
  42. Mason
  43. Barren
  44. Carlisle
  45. Christian
  46. Wayne
  47. Green
  48. Russell
  49. Pulaski
  50. Edmonson
  51. Webster
  52. Trimble
  53. Grayson
  54. Greenup
  55. Harrison
  56. Hopkins
  57. McLean
  58. Breckinridge
  59. Adair
  60. Grant
  61. Hickman
  62. Henderson
  63. Allen
  64. Laurel
  65. Todd
  66. Monroe
  67. Carroll
  68. Bourbon
  69. Morgan
  70. Crittenden
  71. Livingston
  72. Trigg
  73. Elliott
  74. Union
  75. Muhlenberg
  76. Montgomery
  77. Fulton
  78. Clark
  79. Butler
  80. Metcalfe
  81. Caldwell
  82. Casey
  83. Fleming
  84. Clinton
  85. Rockcastle
  86. Lewis
  87. Lincoln
  88. Boyd
  89. McCreary
  90. Pendleton
  91. Carter
  92. Ballard
  93. Robertson
  94. Gallatin
  95. Estill
  96. Whitley
  97. Bath
  98. Knox
  99. Nicholas
  100. Lawrence
  101. Letcher
  102. Owsley
  103. Knott
  104. Magoffin
  105. Cumberland
  106. Powell
  107. Jackson
  108. Johnson
  109. Bell
  110. Harlan
  111. Menifee
  112. Clay
  113. Leslie
  114. Martin
  115. Pike
  116. Lee
  117. Wolfe
  118. Breathitt
  119. Perry
  120. Floyd

(Image via Shutterstock.com.)

Joseph Lord is the online managing editor for WFPL.

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