Health Profile of Rapides Parish, Louisiana
Rapides Parish 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
Rapides Parish Below average
Source: Map AI Methodology
General Health Overview
| Metric | Rapides Parish | Louisiana Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life Expectancy (years) | 74.9 | 75.1 | 78.3 |
| Uninsured Population (%) | 8.1% | 7.8% | 8.4% |
| Self-Rated Poor Health | 22.8% | 22.3% | 16.3% |
Life expectancy in Rapides Parish is 74.9 years, about 0.2 years shorter than the Louisiana average of 75.1 years. The uninsured rate is 8.1%, higher than the Louisiana average of 7.8%. Self-rated poor health is reported by 22.8% of residents, higher than the Louisiana average of 22.3%.
Population by Age
Older residents
45,011 residents in Rapides Parish are age 50 or older.
- 85+ 2,188 900 men · 1,287 women
- 75–84 6,464 2,560 men · 3,903 women
- 65–74 12,146 5,340 men · 6,805 women
- 50–64 24,214 11,602 men · 12,612 women
Younger residents
29,812 residents in Rapides Parish are age 17 or younger.
- 12–17 9,415 4,892 boys · 4,523 girls
- 7–12 8,828 4,571 boys · 4,257 girls
- 3–7 6,659 3,413 boys · 3,246 girls
- 0–3 4,910 2,485 boys · 2,425 girls
About 8,766 residents in Rapides Parish (6.9% of the population) are older than the area's life expectancy of 74.9 years.
The highlighted slice of the age axis is the share of residents older than the life-expectancy mark.
Disease Prevalence
| Disease / Condition | Rapides Parish | Louisiana Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes | 15.4% | 14.5% | 11.3% |
| Cancer | 6.3% | 6.2% | 6.9% |
| Heart Diseases | 7.8% | 7.8% | 7.1% |
| Adult Obesity | 45.3% | 40.3% | 34.3% |
On average, diseases in Rapides Parish are about the same as in Louisiana.
Health Behaviors
| Behavior | Rapides Parish | Louisiana Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smokers | 23.8% | 23.9% | 19.0% |
| Binge Drinking | 17.0% | 18.5% | 16.5% |
| Sedentary Lifestyle | 36.1% | 33.8% | 25.1% |
On average, health behaviors in Rapides Parish are about the same as in Louisiana.
Assuming each smoker smokes 10 cigarettes a day, that's about 227,719 cigarettes a day, 6.8 million a month, or 83.1 million a year! At 11 minutes* of life lost per cigarette, that's about 2.5 million minutes a day and 914.3 million a year lost to smoking overall - and since life expectancy in Rapides Parish is 74.9 years, that's roughly equivalent to 0.06 lifetimes a day, or 23 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 | Rapides Parish | Louisiana Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air Pollution (μg/m³) | 7.11 | 7.40 | 6.09 |
With an annual average of 7.1 µg/m³ of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), air quality in Rapides Parish is good — generally safe air quality for the vast majority of residents.
Rapides Parish, LA Health Compared With Nearby Counties
Rapides Parish, LA is the largest of the 6 counties compared here, 127,522 residents against a local median of 22,477. Nothing separates Rapides Parish, LA 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 obesity, 12% above the local median at 45.3% against 40.3%. Rapides Parish, LA has the 6th lowest obesity of the 6 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Life expectancy | Uninsured | Obesity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rapides Parish, LA | 127,522 | 74.9 yrs #4/6 | 8.1% #5/6 | 45.3% #6/6 |
| Grant Parish, LA | 22,095 | 74.3 yrs | 7.1% | 42.8% |
| Evangeline Parish, LA | 32,054 | 75.2 yrs | 8.5% | 41.3% |
| Avoyelles Parish, LA | 38,905 | 74.7 yrs | 7.3% | 38.7% |
| LaSalle Parish, LA | 14,789 | 77.8 yrs | 3.6% | 40.3% |
| Allen Parish, LA | 22,477 | 76.2 yrs | 7.2% | 39.1% |
Conclusion
Considering all these factors, Rapides Parish, Louisiana has an overall health index grade of C, making it somewhat better than Louisiana, and about on par with the country as a whole.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about health in Rapides Parish, Louisiana.
What is the health grade for Rapides Parish, Louisiana?
Rapides Parish, Louisiana 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 Rapides Parish, Louisiana one of the healthiest counties in Louisiana?
Rapides Parish ranks 44th healthiest out of 64 counties in Louisiana by the Map AI Health Index, which measures life expectancy, disease rates, healthcare access, and the physical environment.
How long do people live in Rapides Parish, Louisiana?
People in Rapides Parish, Louisiana can expect to live 74.9 years on average, about the same as the Louisiana average of 75.1.
How many people lack health insurance in Rapides Parish, Louisiana?
8.1% of residents in Rapides Parish, Louisiana have no health insurance, about 1 in 12 people, about the same as the Louisiana rate of 7.8%.
What percentage of Rapides Parish, Louisiana residents are obese?
45.3% of adults in Rapides Parish, Louisiana are classified as obese, about 1 in 2, 4.9 points above the Louisiana rate of 40.3%.
How many cigarettes do smokers in Rapides Parish, Louisiana go through, and how much life does that cost?
Assuming each smoker smokes 10 cigarettes a day, that's about 227,719 cigarettes a day, 6.8 million a month, or 83.1 million a year! At 11 minutes* of life lost per cigarette, that's about 2.5 million minutes a day and 914.3 million a year lost to smoking overall - and since life expectancy in Rapides Parish is 74.9 years, that's roughly equivalent to 0.06 lifetimes a day, or 23 lifetimes a year.
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