Health Analysis Ranks Tolland, Middlesex, Fairfield Counties At Top of List

If you’re looking for the healthiest counties in Connecticut, look no further than Tolland and Middlesex Counties.  According to a report released by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, Connecticut’s eight counties vary across a range of health categories and indices. In the report’s analysis of health outcomes, the order of ranking was Tolland, Fairfield, Middlesex, Litchfield, New London, Hartford, Windham, and New Haven.

The report – County Health Rankings & Roadmaps - also includes a ranking by Health Factors, which finds a slightly altered order:  Middlesex, Tolland, Litchfield, Fairfield, New London, Hartford, New Haven, and Windham. Factors included in the analysis are health behaviors, clinical care, social & economic factors, and physical environment.

The Rankings look at a variety of measures that affect health such as the rate of people dying bCounty-Health-Rankings-logoefore age 75, high school graduation rates, unemployment, limited access to healthy foods, air and water quality, income, and rates of smoking, obesity and teen births.

The report relies on a robust set of data and analysis that allows counties to see what it is that is making residents sick or healthy and how they compare to other counties in the same state. A dynamic, interactive website shows the rank of the health of nearly every county in the nation and illustrates “that much of what affects health occurs outside of the doctor’s office.”

It examines25 factors that influence health, including rates of childhood poverty, rates of smoking, obesity levels, teen birth rates, access to physicians and dentists, rates of high school graduation and college attendance, access to healthy foods, levels of physical inactivity, and percentages of children living in single parent households.

The data has been used to garner support among government agencies, healthcare providers, community organizations, business leaders, policymakers, and the public for local health improvement initiatives. The website’s Action Center offers access to free personalized assistance to places that need guidance on what steps to take to make their communities healthier places to live, learn, work, and play.

This year’s Rankings show significant new national trends:

  • Child poverty rates have not improved since 2000, with more than one in five children living in poverty.
  • Violent crime has decreased by almost 50 percent over the past two decades.
  • The counties where people don’t live as long and don’t feel as well mentally or physically have the highest rates of smoking, teen births, and physical inactivity, as well as more preventable hospital stays.
  • Teen birth rates are more than twice as high in the least healthy counties than in the healthiest counties.
  • Access to health care remains an important factor and this year, the Rankings include residents’ access to dentists, as well as primary care doctors. Residents living in healthier counties are 1.4 times more likely to have access to a doctor and dentist than those in the least healthy counties.

The County Health Roadmap, which accompany the rankings, are designed to help bring people together from all walks of life to look at the many factors that influence health, focus on strategies that work, learn from other communities so as not to reinvent the wheel, and make changes that will have a lasting impact on health.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation’s largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to health and health  care, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, measurable, and timely change.

The University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute is the focal point within the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health for translating public health and health policy research into practice.

 

Population Growth Through 2025 Driven by New Haven, Hartford, Fairfield Counties

Connecticut’s population, which was just under 3.3 million in 1990 and just over 3.5 million two decades later, is projected to exceed 3.7 million by 2025, according to Connecticut Population Projections featured on the University of Connecticut’s Connecticut State Data Center website.CT Map The interactive site provides a breakdown of projections for each of the state’s eight counties – and all are expected to grow during the next dozen years.  The most dramatic growth is anticipated in New Haven County, which is seen to exceed 900,000 residents for the first time by 2025.  The state population is predicted to increase by slightly more than 100,000 residents between 2015 and 2025.

Overall, the state’s population is expected to reach 3.66 million by 2015 and grow to 3.74 million by 2025.  Litchfield County will likely see the slowest growth, with less than an additional 1,000 residents anticipated over the decade.  Middlesex County is expected to grow by about 2,000 residents; Tolland County by nearly 5,000.  Windham County is expected to grow at twice the rate of New London County, as both are anticipating adding between 6,000 and 7,000 residents, although New London County has more than twice the population.

Here’s the breakdown by county of the projections:

County                   2015                       2025                       Projected growth

Fairfield                 932,378                 954,479                 22,101

Hartford                 910,921                 936,811                 25,890

New Haven            881,371                 912,057                 30,686

New London         279,756                 285,773                 6,017

Litchfield               192,189                 193,113                  924

Middlesex             168,834                 170,976                  2,142

Tolland                   155,924                 160,760                  4,836

Windham               122,719                 129,526                   6,807

Connecticut          3,644,546              3,746,184              101,638

The ranking of the state’s eight counties by population is not expected to change:  Fairfield, Hartford, New Haven, New London, Litchfield, Middlesex, Tolland, and Windham.

The Connecticut State Data Center provides population projections to assist state agencies, non-profit organizations, businesses, governments, and centers/organizations to identify potential population changes into the future. These projections are created based upon several datasets and while these estimates are developed based on multiple data sources, actual population changes may vary from these projections.