Health Profile of Van Buren County, Arkansas
Van Buren 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.
-
C
Van Buren County Below average
Source: Map AI Methodology
General Health Overview
| Metric | Van Buren County | Arkansas Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life Expectancy (years) | 77.1 | 75.5 | 78.3 |
| Uninsured Population (%) | 8.2% | 9.0% | 8.4% |
| Self-Rated Poor Health | 24.4% | 22.8% | 16.3% |
Life expectancy in Van Buren County is 77.1 years, about 1.5 years longer than the Arkansas average of 75.5 years. The uninsured rate is 8.2%, lower than the Arkansas average of 9.0%. Self-rated poor health is reported by 24.4% of residents, higher than the Arkansas average of 22.8%.
Population by Age
Older residents
7,695 residents in Van Buren County are age 50 or older.
- 85+ 536 225 men · 311 women
- 75–84 1,355 599 men · 755 women
- 65–74 2,240 1,074 men · 1,167 women
- 50–64 3,564 1,722 men · 1,842 women
Younger residents
2,915 residents in Van Buren County are age 17 or younger.
- 12–17 870 491 boys · 379 girls
- 7–12 915 433 boys · 481 girls
- 3–7 698 330 boys · 368 girls
- 0–3 433 229 boys · 203 girls
About 1,561 residents in Van Buren County (9.8% of the population) are older than the area's life expectancy of 77.1 years.
The highlighted slice of the age axis is the share of residents older than the life-expectancy mark.
Disease Prevalence
| Disease / Condition | Van Buren County | Arkansas Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes | 15.2% | 13.7% | 11.3% |
| Cancer | 8.8% | 7.1% | 6.9% |
| Heart Diseases | 10.8% | 8.7% | 7.1% |
| Adult Obesity | 38.0% | 39.0% | 34.3% |
The rate of cancer in Van Buren County is about 24% higher than in Arkansas. The rate of heart disease in Van Buren County is about 24% higher than in Arkansas.
Health Behaviors
| Behavior | Van Buren County | Arkansas Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smokers | 23.5% | 23.3% | 19.0% |
| Binge Drinking | 13.3% | 13.9% | 16.5% |
| Sedentary Lifestyle | 33.5% | 33.0% | 25.1% |
On average, health behaviors in Van Buren County are about the same as in Arkansas.
Assuming each smoker smokes 10 cigarettes a day, that's about 30,308 cigarettes a day, 909,236 a month, or 11.1 million a year! At 11 minutes* of life lost per cigarette, that's about 333,387 minutes a day and 121.7 million a year lost to smoking overall - and since life expectancy in Van Buren County is 77.1 years, that's roughly equivalent to 0.01 lifetimes a day, or 3.00 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 | Van Buren County | Arkansas Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air Pollution (μg/m³) | 6.86 | 7.47 | 6.09 |
With an annual average of 6.9 µg/m³ of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), air quality in Van Buren County is good — generally safe air quality for the vast majority of residents.
Van Buren County, AR Health Compared With Nearby Counties
Van Buren County, AR is the 4th largest of the 6 counties compared here, 15,983 residents against a local median of 21,055. Nothing separates Van Buren County, AR 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, 14% above the local median at 8.2% against 7.2%. Van Buren County, AR has the 5th lowest uninsured of the 6 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Life expectancy | Uninsured | Obesity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Van Buren County, AR | 15,983 | 77.1 yrs #1/6 | 8.2% #5/6 | 38.0% #5/6 |
| Conway County, AR | 21,055 | 75.1 yrs | 5.8% | 38.3% |
| Searcy County, AR | 7,857 | 75.6 yrs | 8.2% | 37.9% |
| Stone County, AR | 12,568 | 73.6 yrs | 8.0% | 36.2% |
| Faulkner County, AR | 127,709 | 76.0 yrs | 7.1% | 34.6% |
| Cleburne County, AR | 25,225 | 76.7 yrs | 7.2% | 37.3% |
Conclusion
Considering all these factors, Van Buren 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 Van Buren County, Arkansas.
Is Van Buren County, Arkansas a healthy place to live?
Van Buren 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 Van Buren County, Arkansas one of the healthiest counties in Arkansas?
Van Buren County ranks 50th 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 life expectancy in Van Buren County, Arkansas?
People in Van Buren County, Arkansas can expect to live 77.1 years on average, 1.5 years longer than the Arkansas average of 75.5.
What percentage of Van Buren County, Arkansas residents are uninsured?
8.2% of residents in Van Buren County, Arkansas have no health insurance, about 1 in 12 people, 0.8 points below the Arkansas rate of 9.0%.
How common is obesity in Van Buren County, Arkansas?
38.0% of adults in Van Buren County, Arkansas are classified as obese, about 1 in 3, 1.0 points below the Arkansas rate of 39.0%.
What health issue is more common in Van Buren County, Arkansas than elsewhere?
Compared with Arkansas as a whole, heart disease stands out most: the adult rate here is 10.8%, about 24% higher than the Arkansas rate of 8.7%.
How many cigarettes do smokers in Van Buren County, Arkansas go through, and how much life does that cost?
Assuming each smoker smokes 10 cigarettes a day, that's about 30,308 cigarettes a day, 909,236 a month, or 11.1 million a year! At 11 minutes* of life lost per cigarette, that's about 333,387 minutes a day and 121.7 million a year lost to smoking overall - and since life expectancy in Van Buren County is 77.1 years, that's roughly equivalent to 0.01 lifetimes a day, or 3.00 lifetimes a year.
Analyze any area in the US
Get local demographics for any address, aggregated by drive time or radius, on the interactive map.
Explore the map →