Walking on the Chippewa River Trail in Eau Claire.

Eau Claire County residents smoke and drink a little more than other Wisconsinites, but they’re also less likely to be obese, are more physically active, and live a bit longer, according to newly published health rankings.

The statistics come from the national County Health Rankings, which are assembled each spring by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.

According to the data, Eau Claire County residents have a life expectancy of 78.9 years, compared with a state figure of 78.2 and a national average of 77.6. Among Eau Claire County adults, 15% report smoking and 26% binge drink – in both cases one percentage point above the Wisconsin average. Alcohol impairment is a factor in a full 36% of the county’s driving deaths, compared with 35% statewide and 26% in the nation.

On the positive side, Eau Claire County residents are less likely to be obese (32% vs. 34%) and to be physically inactive (19% vs. 23%) than the national average. Locals are also less likely to have sexually transmitted infections and to die from drug overdoses than the state and national averages.

On the whole, health outcomes in Eau Claire, Chippewa, and Dunn counties are slightly better than the average county in Wisconsin and the United States. However, unlike past years, the County Health Rankings did not provide aggregate numerical rankings for counties. (For instance, in 2023 Eau Claire County ranked 17th out of Wisconsin’s 72 counties.)

The rankings include dozens of data points for counties across the nation, highlighting areas of strength and weakness to health officials and the public. “The data measure many things that shape how long and well people live,” the Eau Claire City-Council Health Department said in a media release. “Having access to health care and eating healthy foods plays a role, but so do income, education, reliable employment, transportation, safe housing, childcare, clean air, and more.”

One of the more interesting (and perhaps morbid) statistics in the report is premature death – a calculation of the years of potential life lost by those under the age of 75. In Eau Claire County, 6,100 years of life were lost because of premature death per 100,000 people (which, as it happens, is roughly the population of Eau Claire County). This is compared with a rate of 7,100 in Wisconsin and 8,000 around the nation.

While the data show that Eau Claire County has a lower unemployment rate than the state as a whole as well as a larger proportion of health care providers (for instance, the ration of residents to primary care providers is 700:1 in the county, compared with 1,250:1 in the state), it may not reflect the full picture, the health department noted. “Due to pending hospital and clinic closures, local healthcare systems are facing strain and higher demand in Eau Claire County and surrounding communities,” the media release stated. “Certain services are of particular concern, including healthcare for people who use medical assistance programs and/or need alcohol or drug treatment.”

Check out more statistics below, or delve into them yourself online at countyhealthrankings.org/health-data.

County Health Rankings 2024