Health,

from p. 1

motor vehicle crashes in Clark County involved alcohol, compared to 36 percent in Wisconsin and 27 percent in the entire U.S.

Obesity levels were also higher in Clark County than in other areas. Adults reporting a Body Mass Index greater or equal to 30 kg/m2 was 37 percent in Clark County, 33 percent in Wisconsin and 32 percent in the U.S. Twenty-four percent of adults in Clark County reported having no leisuretime physical activity (Wisconsin: 20 percent; U.S.: 22 percent) and only 35 percent of Clark County residents reported living near a park or recreation facility, compared to 84 percent of residents of Wisconsin and the U.S.

Also included in health behaviors reported by CHR& R was the percentage of adults in 2020 reporting less than seven hours of sleep per night. On average, 32 percent of Clark County residents reported less than seven hours of sleep, which was comparable to Wisconsin (31 percent) and the rest of the U.S. (33 percent). Clark County was also comparable to the rest of Wisconsin on a lack of access to food. About 8 percent of residents in Clark County reported a lack of access to food while Wisconsin reported at 7 percent. The nation as a whole reported 12 percent having a lack of access to food. Seven percent of residents in Clark County also reported being low-income and not living close enough to a grocery store, limiting their access to healthy foods (Wisconsin: 5 percent; U.S.: 6 percent).

Clinical care The data for Clark County in the area of clinical care was reported as significantly worse than the rest of Wisconsin and the U.S., and the CHR& R projected that Clark County will continue to get worse in many of these areas. In 2020, 16 percent of residents under the age of 65 were without health insurance, compared to just 7 percent of Wisconsin and 10 percent nationwide. Children under the age of 19 are also going without health insurance; 15 percent of children in Clark County were reported to have no health insurance, compared to just 4 percent in Wisconsin and 5 percent in the U.S.

Clark County is also worse than other areas in the amount of physicians, dentists and mental health providers that are available to provide care. There is currently one physician for every 4,340 people in Clark County (Wisconsin: 1,240:1; U.S.: 1,310:1) and one dentist per every 2,320 people (Wisconsin 1,380:1; U.S.: 1,380:1). There is also only one mental health care provider for every 2,040 residents in Clark County, compared to one provider for every 420 people in Wisconsin and one for every 340 people in the U.S. Other primary care providers such as nurse practitioners, physician assistants and clinical nurse specialists were at a ratio of one for every 1,650 people in Clark County (Wisconsin: 720:1; U.S.: 810:1).

The only area of clinical care Clark County excelled in was the percentage of female Medicare enrollees between the ages of 65-74 getting an annual mammography screening. Forty-four percent of Clark County residents in this demographic received an annual screening. Wisconsin was at 43 percent, and the U.S. was at 37 percent in this area.

Social and economic factors The CHR& R program also gave a report on the levels of education, school funding, households and poverty levels. Based on data from 2017-2021, 83 percent of Clark County residents had a high school diploma or equivalent by age 25. That number is at 93 percent for Wisconsin and 89 percent in the U.S. in the same time period. However, high school graduation levels are higher than the average at 94 percent in Clark County (Wisconsin: 90 percent; U.S.: 87 percent). The amount of Clark County residents between the ages of 25-44 with some college education was at 46 percent between 2017-2021 (Wisconsin: 70 percent; U.S.: 67 percent).

In public schools, there is a significant gap in the amount required spending needed per pupil to achieve the U.S. average test scores in Clark County. Schools in Clark County were in the hole by $806, not receiving the estimated amount needed to support students in achieving average test scores. Also in the area of schools, about 53 percent of Clark County children in public school were eligible for free or reduced lunch (Wisconsin: 43 percent; U.S.: 53 percent).

In households, the amount of children ages 18 and younger who were living in poverty was at 18 percent in Clark County (Wisconsin: 14 percent; U.S.: 17 percent), and CHR& R projects Clark County to get worse in this area in the coming years. Single-parent households are less common in Clark County, with 13 percent of households being headed by a single parent, compared to 23 percent in Wisconsin and 25 percent as a nation.

The income brought into county households is also lower than the state and national averages. The median household income for Clark County was $59,300 in 2021 (Wisconsin: $67,200; U.S.: $69,700). Looking at inflation's effects, it is estimated that workers in 2022 would need an hourly wage of $39.95 in Clark County to cover expenses for a household of one adult and two children. In Wisconsin, the living wage is $46.29 per hour and in the U.S., that number is $45 per hour.

Clark County households reported spending about 24 percent of their income on childcare for two children (Wisconsin: 28 percent; U.S.: 27 percent). Childcare centers are also slightly less common in Clark County, with four childcare centers available per 1,000 children, compared to six centers per 1,000 children in Wisconsin and seven centers per 1,000 children in the U.S.

Physical environment The CHR& R program finally looked at effects of the physical environment in its rankings, including air pollution and housing. Air pollution levels in Clark County are improving, with an annual average of 7.6 micrograms per cubic meter of fine particulate matter measured in Clark County air by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2019, compared to 10 micrograms per cubic meter in 2002. In 2019, Wisconsin was at 7.8 and the US was at 7.4.

In the area of housing, Clark County had 78 percent of its housing units occupied by the owner (Wisconsin: 67 percent; U.S.: 65 percent) in the years 2017-2021. In that same time period, 8 percent of Clark County households were spending more than 50 percent of their income on housing (Wisconsin: 11 percent; U.S.: 14 percent).

Between the years of 2015-19, 14 percent of Clark County households reported having at least one of four housing problems: overcrowding, high housing costs, lack of kitchen facilities or lack of plumbing facilities. That number is 13 percent in Wisconsin and 17 percent nationwide. Clark County also reported 76 percent of households with a broadband internet connection between 2017-2021 (Wisconsin: 86 percent; U.S.: 87 percent).

For the complete list of data, visit countyhealthrankings. org.

Reporter Cheyenne Thomas contributed to this article.

♥