Researchers recently released an annual ranking of county health across the United States and it turns out that Miami-Dade is the sixth healthiest of all 67 Florida counties.
South Florida ranked pretty highly in general with Broward coming in ninth healthiest and Palm Beach at 14th in the state.
The rankings, released each year by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, are based on 25 factors including smoking rates, obesity, teen birth rates, childhood poverty, graduation rates, exercise, single-parent households, health-care accessibility and healthy food accessibility.
Miami has seen a marked decline in premature deaths in the last ten years, a steeper dip than even the national average of deaths before age 75.
And while Dade county scores well in environmental factors like drinking water safety and access to recreational facilities, there are some disturbing numbers in the recent findings.
When it comes to economic factors, Dade ranks 50 out of 67 Florida counties with twice the prevalence of children living in poverty as the national benchmark, and a staggering 13 times the amount of violent crime.
Our unemployment is more than twice the national benchmark.
As far as clinical care factors, Dade also takes a hit coming nearly last in the state at 60th place.
According to the study, the county has twice the amount of preventable hospital stays and over three times the national benchmark for the amount of population that is uninsured.
Click below to see how Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Florida as a whole are doing according to select health factors. And click here to see where your county ranks.
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