Health Profile of Pulaski County, Arkansas
Pulaski 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
Pulaski County Below averageHealthier than 89% of counties in Arkansas
Source: Map AI Methodology
General Health Overview
| Metric | Pulaski County | Arkansas Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life Expectancy (years) | 75.6 | 75.5 | 78.3 |
| Uninsured Population (%) | 9.7% | 9.0% | 8.4% |
| Self-Rated Poor Health | 20.3% | 22.8% | 16.3% |
Life expectancy in Pulaski County is 75.6 years, about 0.1 years longer than the Arkansas average of 75.5 years. The uninsured rate is 9.7%, higher than the Arkansas average of 9.0%. Self-rated poor health is reported by 20.3% of residents, lower than the Arkansas average of 22.8%.
Population by Age
Older residents
133,320 residents in Pulaski County are age 50 or older.
- 85+ 7,831 2,482 men · 5,348 women
- 75–84 16,690 6,953 men · 9,737 women
- 65–74 35,621 16,064 men · 19,557 women
- 50–64 73,178 34,329 men · 38,849 women
Younger residents
88,980 residents in Pulaski County are age 17 or younger.
- 12–17 27,169 13,947 boys · 13,222 girls
- 7–12 26,366 13,224 boys · 13,142 girls
- 3–7 20,360 10,156 boys · 10,204 girls
- 0–3 15,085 7,658 boys · 7,427 girls
About 23,270 residents in Pulaski County (5.8% of the population) are older than the area's life expectancy of 75.6 years.
The highlighted slice of the age axis is the share of residents older than the life-expectancy mark.
Disease Prevalence
| Disease / Condition | Pulaski County | Arkansas Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes | 11.7% | 13.7% | 11.3% |
| Cancer | 5.9% | 7.1% | 6.9% |
| Heart Diseases | 6.5% | 8.7% | 7.1% |
| Adult Obesity | 37.0% | 39.0% | 34.3% |
The rate of heart disease in Pulaski County is about 25% lower than in Arkansas. The rate of cancer in Pulaski County is about 17% lower than in Arkansas.
Health Behaviors
| Behavior | Pulaski County | Arkansas Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smokers | 20.6% | 23.3% | 19.0% |
| Binge Drinking | 15.8% | 13.9% | 16.5% |
| Sedentary Lifestyle | 29.6% | 33.0% | 25.1% |
On average, health behaviors in Pulaski County are about the same as in Arkansas.
Assuming each smoker smokes 10 cigarettes a day, that's about 629,978 cigarettes a day, 18.9 million a month, or 229.9 million a year! At 11 minutes* of life lost per cigarette, that's about 6.9 million minutes a day and 2.5 billion a year lost to smoking overall - and since life expectancy in Pulaski County is 75.6 years, that's roughly equivalent to 0.17 lifetimes a day, or 64 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 | Pulaski County | Arkansas Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air Pollution (μg/m³) | 8.24 | 7.47 | 6.09 |
With an annual average of 8.2 µg/m³ of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), air quality in Pulaski County is good — generally safe air quality for the vast majority of residents.
Pulaski County, AR Health Compared With Nearby Counties
Pulaski County, AR is the largest of the 6 counties compared here, 399,629 residents against a local median of 75,267. Pulaski County, AR's uninsured, at 9.7%, runs 57% above the 6.2% typical of the counties around it. That is the weaker end of the local range on this measure.
The counties themselves sit within 1.3% of each other on uninsured, a tighter band than the gap between any of them and Pulaski County, AR, which makes it a genuine outlier here rather than one end of a wide local spread. Pulaski County, AR has the 6th lowest uninsured of the 6 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Life expectancy | Uninsured | Obesity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pulaski County, AR | 399,629 | 75.6 yrs #4/6 | 9.7% #6/6 | 37.0% #2/6 |
| Faulkner County, AR | 127,709 | 76.0 yrs | 7.1% | 34.6% |
| Saline County, AR | 127,467 | 76.7 yrs | 6.0% | 38.6% |
| Lonoke County, AR | 75,267 | 75.0 yrs | 6.2% | 37.3% |
| Grant County, AR | 18,243 | 75.6 yrs | 6.6% | 37.8% |
| Conway County, AR | 21,055 | 75.1 yrs | 5.8% | 38.3% |
Conclusion
Considering all these factors, Pulaski County, Arkansas has an overall health index grade of C, making it somewhat better than Arkansas, and about on par with the country as a whole.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about health in Pulaski County, Arkansas.
Is Pulaski County, Arkansas a healthy place to live?
Pulaski County, Arkansas 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 Pulaski County, Arkansas one of the healthiest counties in Arkansas?
Pulaski County ranks 9th healthiest out of 75 counties in Arkansas by the Map AI Health Index, which measures life expectancy, disease rates, healthcare access, and the physical environment.
What is the average lifespan in Pulaski County, Arkansas?
People in Pulaski County, Arkansas can expect to live 75.6 years on average, about the same as the Arkansas average of 75.5.
What is the uninsured rate in Pulaski County, Arkansas?
9.7% of residents in Pulaski County, Arkansas have no health insurance, about 1 in 10 people, 0.7 points above the Arkansas rate of 9.0%.
What is the obesity rate in Pulaski County, Arkansas?
37.0% of adults in Pulaski County, Arkansas are classified as obese, about 1 in 3, 2.0 points below the Arkansas rate of 39.0%.
How many cigarettes do smokers in Pulaski County, Arkansas go through, and how much life does that cost?
Assuming each smoker smokes 10 cigarettes a day, that's about 629,978 cigarettes a day, 18.9 million a month, or 229.9 million a year! At 11 minutes* of life lost per cigarette, that's about 6.9 million minutes a day and 2.5 billion a year lost to smoking overall - and since life expectancy in Pulaski County is 75.6 years, that's roughly equivalent to 0.17 lifetimes a day, or 64 lifetimes a year.
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