Health Profile of Johnson County, Iowa

Johnson 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.

  • A
    Johnson County Above average
    Healthiest county in Iowa

Source: Map AI Methodology

Johnson County
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Health grade

General Health Overview

See health data visualized

Metric Johnson County Iowa Avg US Average
Life Expectancy (years) 82.6 79.2 78.3
Uninsured Population (%) 4.7% 5.0% 8.4%
Self-Rated Poor Health 10.4% 13.6% 16.3%

Life expectancy in Johnson County is 82.6 years, about 3.4 years longer than the Iowa average of 79.2 years. The uninsured rate is 4.7%, lower than the Iowa average of 5.0%. Self-rated poor health is reported by 10.4% of residents, lower than the Iowa average of 13.6%.

Population by Age

Older residents

39,733 residents in Johnson County are age 50 or older.

  • 85+ 2,177 727 men · 1,450 women
  • 75–84 4,858 2,107 men · 2,751 women
  • 65–74 10,221 4,902 men · 5,318 women
  • 50–64 22,478 11,395 men · 11,082 women

Younger residents

28,948 residents in Johnson County are age 17 or younger.

  • 12–17 8,232 3,926 boys · 4,306 girls
  • 7–12 8,598 4,378 boys · 4,220 girls
  • 3–7 6,989 3,748 boys · 3,241 girls
  • 0–3 5,129 2,733 boys · 2,396 girls
Beyond life expectancy

About 3,178 residents in Johnson County (2.0% of the population) are older than the area's life expectancy of 82.6 years.

82.6 yrs
Age 0 Age 100

The highlighted slice of the age axis is the share of residents older than the life-expectancy mark.

Disease Prevalence

Disease / Condition Johnson County Iowa Avg US Average
Diabetes 6.7% 10.6% 11.3%
Cancer 4.7% 7.6% 6.9%
Heart Diseases 4.2% 7.3% 7.1%
Adult Obesity 28.1% 37.3% 34.3%

The rate of heart disease in Johnson County is about 42% lower than in Iowa. The rate of cancer in Johnson County is about 37% lower than in Iowa. The rate of diabetes in Johnson County is about 37% lower than in Iowa.

Health Behaviors

Behavior Johnson County Iowa Avg US Average
Smokers 13.4% 17.6% 19.0%
Binge Drinking 23.4% 20.8% 16.5%
Sedentary Lifestyle 19.8% 25.4% 25.1%

The rate of smoking in Johnson County is about 24% lower than in Iowa. The rate of sedentary lifestyle in Johnson County is about 22% lower than in Iowa.

Assuming each smoker smokes 10 cigarettes a day, that's about 169,863 cigarettes a day, 5.1 million a month, or 62.0 million a year! At 11 minutes* of life lost per cigarette, that's about 1.9 million minutes a day and 682.0 million a year lost to smoking overall - and since life expectancy in Johnson County is 82.6 years, that's roughly equivalent to 0.04 lifetimes a day, or 16 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 Johnson County Iowa Avg US Average
Air Pollution (μg/m³) 7.63 6.49 6.09

With an annual average of 7.6 µg/m³ of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), air quality in Johnson County is good — generally safe air quality for the vast majority of residents.

Johnson County, IA Health Compared With Nearby Counties

Johnson County, IA is the 2nd largest of the 6 counties compared here, 156,634 residents against a local median of 22,560. Where Johnson County, IA breaks from the counties next to it is obesity, sitting 29% below the local median of 39.6% at 28.1%. That is the better end of the local range on this measure.

The counties themselves sit within 5.5% of each other on obesity, a tighter band than the gap between any of them and Johnson County, IA, which makes it a genuine outlier here rather than one end of a wide local spread. Johnson County, IA has the lowest obesity of the 6 areas compared here.

Area Population Life expectancy Uninsured Obesity
Johnson County, IA 156,634 82.6 yrs #1/6 4.7% #5/6 28.1% #1/6
Washington County, IA 22,560 79.9 yrs 7.6% 39.1%
Linn County, IA 230,016 79.3 yrs 4.1% 37.3%
Cedar County, IA 18,349 82.2 yrs 4.2% 39.9%
Iowa County, IA 16,507 79.9 yrs 3.2% 39.6%
Muscatine County, IA 42,559 80.2 yrs 4.3% 42.8%

Conclusion

Considering all these factors, Johnson County, Iowa has an overall health index grade of A, making it notably better than Iowa, and notably better than the country as a whole.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about health in Johnson County, Iowa.

What is the health grade for Johnson County, Iowa?

Johnson County, Iowa has a Map AI Health Index grade of A, based on life expectancy, disease rates, healthcare access, and the physical environment; an A grade means residents are much healthier than the U.S. average.

Is Johnson County, Iowa one of the healthiest counties in Iowa?

Yes. Johnson County ranks 1st of 99 counties in Iowa by the Map AI Health Index, making it the healthiest of them all.

What is the average lifespan in Johnson County, Iowa?

People in Johnson County, Iowa can expect to live 82.6 years on average, 3.4 years longer than the Iowa average of 79.2.

How many people lack health insurance in Johnson County, Iowa?

4.7% of residents in Johnson County, Iowa have no health insurance, about 1 in 21 people, about the same as the Iowa rate of 5.0%.

What is the obesity rate in Johnson County, Iowa?

28.1% of adults in Johnson County, Iowa are classified as obese, about 1 in 4, 9.2 points below the Iowa rate of 37.3%.

How many cigarettes do smokers in Johnson County, Iowa go through, and how much life does that cost?

Assuming each smoker smokes 10 cigarettes a day, that's about 169,863 cigarettes a day, 5.1 million a month, or 62.0 million a year! At 11 minutes* of life lost per cigarette, that's about 1.9 million minutes a day and 682.0 million a year lost to smoking overall - and since life expectancy in Johnson County is 82.6 years, that's roughly equivalent to 0.04 lifetimes a day, or 16 lifetimes a year.

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