Health Profile of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama
Tuscaloosa County Health Score
The Map AI Health Index is a score that reflects local life expectancy, disease rates, healthcare access, and physical environment to help you quickly compare the overall health and well-being of different areas.
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C
Tuscaloosa County Below averageHealthier than 89% of counties in Alabama
Source: Map AI Methodology
General Health Overview
| Metric | Tuscaloosa County | Alabama Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life Expectancy (years) | 75.0 | 74.7 | 78.3 |
| Uninsured Population (%) | 6.7% | 9.2% | 8.4% |
| Self-Rated Poor Health | 18.9% | 23.4% | 16.3% |
Life expectancy in Tuscaloosa County is 75.0 years, about 0.3 years longer than the Alabama average of 74.7 years. The uninsured rate is 6.7%, lower than the Alabama average of 9.2%. Self-rated poor health is reported by 18.9% of residents, lower than the Alabama average of 23.4%.
Population by Age
Older residents
68,074 residents in Tuscaloosa County are age 50 or older.
- 85+ 2,902 1,055 men · 1,848 women
- 75–84 8,913 3,537 men · 5,376 women
- 65–74 17,583 8,072 men · 9,511 women
- 50–64 38,675 18,765 men · 19,911 women
Younger residents
48,503 residents in Tuscaloosa County are age 17 or younger.
- 12–17 14,307 7,153 boys · 7,154 girls
- 7–12 14,297 7,337 boys · 6,960 girls
- 3–7 11,384 5,932 boys · 5,453 girls
- 0–3 8,514 4,410 boys · 4,104 girls
About 11,806 residents in Tuscaloosa County (5.0% of the population) are older than the area's life expectancy of 75.0 years.
The highlighted slice of the age axis is the share of residents older than the life-expectancy mark.
Disease Prevalence
| Disease / Condition | Tuscaloosa County | Alabama Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes | 11.5% | 14.9% | 11.3% |
| Cancer | 5.3% | 6.7% | 6.9% |
| Heart Diseases | 6.0% | 8.2% | 7.1% |
| Adult Obesity | 40.7% | 41.3% | 34.3% |
The rate of heart disease in Tuscaloosa County is about 27% lower than in Alabama. The rate of diabetes in Tuscaloosa County is about 23% lower than in Alabama. The rate of cancer in Tuscaloosa County is about 21% lower than in Alabama.
Health Behaviors
| Behavior | Tuscaloosa County | Alabama Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smokers | 18.4% | 22.1% | 19.0% |
| Binge Drinking | 16.8% | 13.6% | 16.5% |
| Sedentary Lifestyle | 29.6% | 32.2% | 25.1% |
The rate of binge drinking in Tuscaloosa County is about 24% higher than in Alabama. The rate of smoking in Tuscaloosa County is about 17% lower than in Alabama.
Assuming each smoker smokes 10 cigarettes a day, that's about 348,386 cigarettes a day, 10.5 million a month, or 127.2 million a year! At 11 minutes* of life lost per cigarette, that's about 3.8 million minutes a day and 1.4 billion a year lost to smoking overall - and since life expectancy in Tuscaloosa County is 75.0 years, that's roughly equivalent to 0.10 lifetimes a day, or 35 lifetimes a year.
* Source: Shaw M, Mitchell R, Dorling D. "Time for a smoke? One cigarette reduces your life by 11 minutes." BMJ. 2000;320:53.
Illustrative only. This is not an estimate of how many people actually die from smoking each day or year - it's a rough, order-of-magnitude comparison meant to help grasp the scale of smoking in this area. We take no responsibility for any decisions made based on this figure.
Air Quality
| Metric | Tuscaloosa County | Alabama Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air Pollution (μg/m³) | 8.19 | 7.76 | 6.09 |
With an annual average of 8.2 µg/m³ of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), air quality in Tuscaloosa County is good — generally safe air quality for the vast majority of residents.
Tuscaloosa County, AL Health Compared With Nearby Counties
Tuscaloosa County, AL is the largest of the 6 counties compared here, 237,556 residents against a local median of 18,721. Nothing separates Tuscaloosa County, AL sharply from the counties around it. Each measure below lands within 15% of the local median, close enough that the differences are within what survey sampling alone would produce.
The largest of those small differences is uninsured, 10% below the local median at 6.7% against 7.5%. Tuscaloosa County, AL has the 2nd lowest uninsured of the 6 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Life expectancy | Uninsured | Obesity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuscaloosa County, AL | 237,556 | 75.0 yrs #2/6 | 6.7% #2/6 | 40.7% #4/6 |
| Fayette County, AL | 16,053 | 73.4 yrs | 7.7% | 39.2% |
| Bibb County, AL | 22,130 | 73.6 yrs | 6.9% | 38.7% |
| Hale County, AL | 14,829 | 75.5 yrs | 6.2% | 47.0% |
| Walker County, AL | 64,822 | 71.4 yrs | 9.6% | 37.7% |
| Pickens County, AL | 18,721 | 74.3 yrs | 7.5% | 41.3% |
Conclusion
Considering all these factors, Tuscaloosa County, Alabama has an overall health index grade of C, making it somewhat better than Alabama, and about on par with the country as a whole.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about health in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama.
Is Tuscaloosa County, Alabama a healthy place to live?
Tuscaloosa County, Alabama has a Map AI Health Index grade of C, based on life expectancy, disease rates, healthcare access, and the physical environment; a C grade means residents are close to the U.S. average.
Is Tuscaloosa County, Alabama one of the healthiest counties in Alabama?
Tuscaloosa County ranks 8th healthiest out of 67 counties in Alabama by the Map AI Health Index, which measures life expectancy, disease rates, healthcare access, and the physical environment.
How long do people live in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama?
People in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama can expect to live 75.0 years on average, about the same as the Alabama average of 74.7.
What percentage of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama residents are uninsured?
6.7% of residents in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama have no health insurance, about 1 in 15 people, 2.5 points below the Alabama rate of 9.2%.
What percentage of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama residents are obese?
40.7% of adults in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama are classified as obese, about 1 in 2, 0.7 points below the Alabama rate of 41.3%.
What is the biggest health concern in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama?
Compared with Alabama as a whole, binge drinking stands out most: the adult rate here is 16.8%, about 24% higher than the Alabama rate of 13.6%.
How many cigarettes do smokers in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama go through, and how much life does that cost?
Assuming each smoker smokes 10 cigarettes a day, that's about 348,386 cigarettes a day, 10.5 million a month, or 127.2 million a year! At 11 minutes* of life lost per cigarette, that's about 3.8 million minutes a day and 1.4 billion a year lost to smoking overall - and since life expectancy in Tuscaloosa County is 75.0 years, that's roughly equivalent to 0.10 lifetimes a day, or 35 lifetimes a year.
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