Health Profile of Illinois
Illinois 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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B
Illinois Around average
Source: Map AI Methodology
Healthiest and Least Healthy Counties in Illinois
- DuPage County (104% of U.S. avg)
- Champaign County (104% of U.S. avg)
- Monroe County (103% of U.S. avg)
- Alexander County (96% of U.S. avg)
- Pulaski County (97% of U.S. avg)
- Gallatin County (98% of U.S. avg)
Ranked by the Map AI Health Index, which combines life expectancy, disease rates, healthcare access, and physical environment.
General Health Overview
| Metric | Illinois | US Average |
|---|---|---|
| Life Expectancy (years) | 77.9 | 78.3 |
| Uninsured Population (%) | 6.9% | 8.4% |
| Self-Rated Poor Health | 15.6% | 16.3% |
Life expectancy in Illinois is 77.9 years, about 0.4 years shorter than the US average of 78.3 years. The uninsured rate is 6.9%, lower than the US average of 8.4%. Self-rated poor health is reported by 15.6% of residents, lower than the US average of 16.3%.
Population by Age
Older residents
4,443,324 residents in Illinois are age 50 or older.
- 85+ 259,041 89,943 men · 169,098 women
- 75–84 605,966 258,210 men · 347,756 women
- 65–74 1,144,534 531,118 men · 613,416 women
- 50–64 2,433,784 1,202,683 men · 1,231,100 women
Younger residents
2,651,133 residents in Illinois are age 17 or younger.
- 12–17 838,795 429,636 boys · 409,160 girls
- 7–12 783,108 400,483 boys · 382,626 girls
- 3–7 593,216 302,794 boys · 290,423 girls
- 0–3 436,013 222,666 boys · 213,347 girls
About 657,767 residents in Illinois (5.2% of the population) are older than the area's life expectancy of 77.9 years.
The highlighted slice of the age axis is the share of residents older than the life-expectancy mark.
Disease Prevalence
| Disease / Condition | Illinois | US Average |
|---|---|---|
| Diabetes | 10.7% | 11.3% |
| Cancer | 7.1% | 6.9% |
| Heart Diseases | 7.1% | 7.1% |
| Adult Obesity | 36.1% | 34.3% |
On average, diseases in Illinois are about the same as in US.
Health Behaviors
| Behavior | Illinois | US Average |
|---|---|---|
| Smokers | 19.2% | 19.0% |
| Binge Drinking | 14.9% | 16.5% |
| Sedentary Lifestyle | 26.3% | 25.1% |
On average, health behaviors in Illinois are about the same as in US.
Assuming each smoker smokes 10 cigarettes a day, that's about 19.0 million cigarettes a day, 570.9 million a month, or 6.9 billion a year! At 11 minutes* of life lost per cigarette, that's about 209.3 million minutes a day and 76.4 billion a year lost to smoking overall - and since life expectancy in Illinois is 77.9 years, that's roughly equivalent to 5.11 lifetimes a day, or 1,866 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 | Illinois | US Average |
|---|---|---|
| Air Pollution (μg/m³) | 7.63 | 6.09 |
With an annual average of 7.6 µg/m³ of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), air quality in Illinois is good — generally safe air quality for the vast majority of residents.
Illinois Health Compared With Nearby States
Illinois is the largest of the 6 states compared here, 12,692,444 residents against a local median of 5,910,864. Nothing separates Illinois sharply from the states 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 6.9% against 6.0%. Illinois has the 4th lowest uninsured of the 6 areas compared here.
Conclusion
Considering all these factors, Illinois has an overall health index grade of B, making it somewhat better than the country as a whole.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about health in Illinois.
What is the health grade for Illinois?
Illinois 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 Illinois one of the healthiest states in the U.S.?
Illinois ranks 28th healthiest out of 51 states in the U.S. by the Map AI Health Index, which measures life expectancy, disease rates, healthcare access, and the physical environment.
What is the average lifespan in Illinois?
People in Illinois can expect to live 77.9 years on average, about the same as the US average of 78.3.
What percentage of Illinois residents are uninsured?
6.9% of residents in Illinois have no health insurance, about 1 in 15 people, 1.5 points below the US rate of 8.4%.
What is the obesity rate in Illinois?
36.1% of adults in Illinois are classified as obese, about 1 in 3, 1.8 points above the US rate of 34.3%.
How many cigarettes do smokers in Illinois go through, and how much life does that cost?
Assuming each smoker smokes 10 cigarettes a day, that's about 19.0 million cigarettes a day, 570.9 million a month, or 6.9 billion a year! At 11 minutes* of life lost per cigarette, that's about 209.3 million minutes a day and 76.4 billion a year lost to smoking overall - and since life expectancy in Illinois is 77.9 years, that's roughly equivalent to 5.11 lifetimes a day, or 1,866 lifetimes a year.
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