Health Profile of Linn County, Iowa
Linn 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.
-
B
Linn County Around averageHealthier than 88% of counties in Iowa
Source: Map AI Methodology
General Health Overview
| Metric | Linn County | Iowa Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life Expectancy (years) | 79.3 | 79.2 | 78.3 |
| Uninsured Population (%) | 4.1% | 5.0% | 8.4% |
| Self-Rated Poor Health | 11.9% | 13.6% | 16.3% |
Life expectancy in Linn County is 79.3 years, about 0.1 years longer than the Iowa average of 79.2 years. The uninsured rate is 4.1%, lower than the Iowa average of 5.0%. Self-rated poor health is reported by 11.9% of residents, lower than the Iowa average of 13.6%.
Population by Age
Older residents
78,491 residents in Linn County are age 50 or older.
- 85+ 5,049 1,757 men · 3,292 women
- 75–84 11,162 4,694 men · 6,469 women
- 65–74 19,989 9,345 men · 10,644 women
- 50–64 42,290 21,105 men · 21,184 women
Younger residents
49,811 residents in Linn County are age 17 or younger.
- 12–17 15,832 8,067 boys · 7,765 girls
- 7–12 14,621 7,517 boys · 7,104 girls
- 3–7 11,078 5,575 boys · 5,502 girls
- 0–3 8,281 4,133 boys · 4,148 girls
About 10,633 residents in Linn County (4.6% of the population) are older than the area's life expectancy of 79.3 years.
The highlighted slice of the age axis is the share of residents older than the life-expectancy mark.
Disease Prevalence
| Disease / Condition | Linn County | Iowa Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes | 9.3% | 10.6% | 11.3% |
| Cancer | 6.4% | 7.6% | 6.9% |
| Heart Diseases | 5.7% | 7.3% | 7.1% |
| Adult Obesity | 37.3% | 37.3% | 34.3% |
The rate of heart disease in Linn County is about 22% lower than in Iowa. The rate of cancer in Linn County is about 16% lower than in Iowa.
Health Behaviors
| Behavior | Linn County | Iowa Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smokers | 15.7% | 17.6% | 19.0% |
| Binge Drinking | 21.9% | 20.8% | 16.5% |
| Sedentary Lifestyle | 20.9% | 25.4% | 25.1% |
The rate of sedentary lifestyle in Linn County is about 18% lower than in Iowa.
Assuming each smoker smokes 10 cigarettes a day, that's about 279,586 cigarettes a day, 8.4 million a month, or 102.0 million a year! At 11 minutes* of life lost per cigarette, that's about 3.1 million minutes a day and 1.1 billion a year lost to smoking overall - and since life expectancy in Linn County is 79.3 years, that's roughly equivalent to 0.07 lifetimes a day, or 27 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 | Linn County | Iowa Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air Pollution (μg/m³) | 7.67 | 6.49 | 6.09 |
With an annual average of 7.7 µg/m³ of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), air quality in Linn County is good — generally safe air quality for the vast majority of residents.
Linn County, IA Health Compared With Nearby Counties
Linn County, IA is the largest of the 6 counties compared here, 230,016 residents against a local median of 20,896. The measure that sets Linn County, IA apart most is uninsured: 4.1%, 15% above the local median of 3.5%. That is the weaker end of the local range on this measure.
The counties themselves spread 3.7% on uninsured, so Linn County, IA sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Linn County, IA has the 4th lowest uninsured of the 6 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Life expectancy | Uninsured | Obesity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linn County, IA | 230,016 | 79.3 yrs #4/6 | 4.1% #4/6 | 37.3% #2/6 |
| Johnson County, IA | 156,634 | 82.6 yrs | 4.7% | 28.1% |
| Delaware County, IA | 17,558 | 78.7 yrs | 3.3% | 39.6% |
| Buchanan County, IA | 20,694 | 79.1 yrs | 6.7% | 39.8% |
| Benton County, IA | 25,722 | 80.8 yrs | 3.0% | 38.6% |
| Jones County, IA | 20,896 | 80.8 yrs | 3.5% | 37.5% |
Conclusion
Considering all these factors, Linn County, Iowa has an overall health index grade of B, making it somewhat better than Iowa, and somewhat better than the country as a whole.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about health in Linn County, Iowa.
What is the health grade for Linn County, Iowa?
Linn County, Iowa has a Map AI Health Index grade of B, based on life expectancy, disease rates, healthcare access, and the physical environment; a B grade means residents are somewhat healthier than the U.S. average.
Is Linn County, Iowa one of the healthiest counties in Iowa?
Linn County ranks 13th healthiest out of 99 counties in Iowa by the Map AI Health Index, which measures life expectancy, disease rates, healthcare access, and the physical environment.
What is the life expectancy in Linn County, Iowa?
People in Linn County, Iowa can expect to live 79.3 years on average, about the same as the Iowa average of 79.2.
What is the uninsured rate in Linn County, Iowa?
4.1% of residents in Linn County, Iowa have no health insurance, about 1 in 24 people, 0.9 points below the Iowa rate of 5.0%.
What percentage of Linn County, Iowa residents are obese?
37.3% of adults in Linn County, Iowa are classified as obese, about 1 in 3, about the same as the Iowa rate of 37.3%.
How many cigarettes do smokers in Linn County, Iowa go through, and how much life does that cost?
Assuming each smoker smokes 10 cigarettes a day, that's about 279,586 cigarettes a day, 8.4 million a month, or 102.0 million a year! At 11 minutes* of life lost per cigarette, that's about 3.1 million minutes a day and 1.1 billion a year lost to smoking overall - and since life expectancy in Linn County is 79.3 years, that's roughly equivalent to 0.07 lifetimes a day, or 27 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 →