News

How healthy is Henderson County?

By Bill Moss, Published: April 7, 2015

Living in the mountains may be good for your health — at least the part of the mountains with access to health care and a higher percentage of insured people.
The 2015 county-by-county health ratings placed Henderson, Buncombe, Transylvania and Polk counties in the top 20 among the state's 100 counties, with Transylvania ranked sixth and Polk 17th. Henderson County at No. 13 was one notch better than Buncombe.
Orange County (Chapel Hill) ranked no. 1 followed by Wake, Watauga, Union and Mecklenburg counties.
Clean mountain air likely had less to do with health outcomes than household income and access to doctors. Swain County ranked 94th and Graham County came in at no. 92.
The report measured lifespan, quality of life, primary care physicians per capita, preventable hospital stays, unemployment, children in single-parent households (26 percent), uninsured (22 percent) and other factors.