Health Profile of Blue Earth County, Minnesota
Blue Earth 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.
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A
Blue Earth County Above averageHealthier than 91% of counties in Minnesota
Source: Map AI Methodology
General Health Overview
| Metric | Blue Earth County | Minnesota Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life Expectancy (years) | 80.4 | 80.8 | 78.3 |
| Uninsured Population (%) | 4.3% | 4.7% | 8.4% |
| Self-Rated Poor Health | 11.3% | 13.0% | 16.3% |
Life expectancy in Blue Earth County is 80.4 years, about 0.4 years shorter than the Minnesota average of 80.8 years. The uninsured rate is 4.3%, lower than the Minnesota average of 4.7%. Self-rated poor health is reported by 11.3% of residents, lower than the Minnesota average of 13.0%.
Population by Age
Older residents
19,765 residents in Blue Earth County are age 50 or older.
- 85+ 1,339 465 men · 874 women
- 75–84 3,002 1,235 men · 1,767 women
- 65–74 5,153 2,527 men · 2,626 women
- 50–64 10,271 5,080 men · 5,192 women
Younger residents
13,125 residents in Blue Earth County are age 17 or younger.
- 12–17 3,826 2,040 boys · 1,787 girls
- 7–12 4,064 2,106 boys · 1,958 girls
- 3–7 3,093 1,609 boys · 1,484 girls
- 0–3 2,142 1,122 boys · 1,020 girls
About 2,562 residents in Blue Earth County (3.7% of the population) are older than the area's life expectancy of 80.4 years.
The highlighted slice of the age axis is the share of residents older than the life-expectancy mark.
Disease Prevalence
| Disease / Condition | Blue Earth County | Minnesota Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes | 7.8% | 9.9% | 11.3% |
| Cancer | 5.8% | 7.4% | 6.9% |
| Heart Diseases | 5.2% | 7.0% | 7.1% |
| Adult Obesity | 27.6% | 34.5% | 34.3% |
The rate of heart disease in Blue Earth County is about 25% lower than in Minnesota. The rate of cancer in Blue Earth County is about 23% lower than in Minnesota. The rate of diabetes in Blue Earth County is about 22% lower than in Minnesota.
Health Behaviors
| Behavior | Blue Earth County | Minnesota Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smokers | 16.8% | 18.5% | 19.0% |
| Binge Drinking | 20.8% | 19.1% | 16.5% |
| Sedentary Lifestyle | 20.2% | 22.2% | 25.1% |
On average, health behaviors in Blue Earth County are about the same as in Minnesota.
Assuming each smoker smokes 10 cigarettes a day, that's about 94,108 cigarettes a day, 2.8 million a month, or 34.3 million a year! At 11 minutes* of life lost per cigarette, that's about 1.0 million minutes a day and 377.8 million a year lost to smoking overall - and since life expectancy in Blue Earth County is 80.4 years, that's roughly equivalent to 0.02 lifetimes a day, or 8.94 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 | Blue Earth County | Minnesota Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air Pollution (μg/m³) | 6.02 | 5.25 | 6.09 |
With an annual average of 6.0 µg/m³ of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), air quality in Blue Earth County is good — generally safe air quality for the vast majority of residents.
Blue Earth County, MN Health Compared With Nearby Counties
Blue Earth County, MN is the largest of the 6 counties compared here, 69,837 residents against a local median of 18,885. Blue Earth County, MN's obesity, at 27.6%, runs 24% below the 36.2% typical of the counties around it. That is the better end of the local range on this measure.
The counties themselves spread 5.4% on obesity, so Blue Earth County, MN sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Blue Earth County, MN has the lowest obesity of the 6 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Life expectancy | Uninsured | Obesity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Earth County, MN | 69,837 | 80.4 yrs #6/6 | 4.3% #3/6 | 27.6% #1/6 |
| Nicollet County, MN | 34,262 | 81.6 yrs | 3.4% | 32.3% |
| Faribault County, MN | 13,914 | 81.2 yrs | 5.8% | 35.2% |
| Le Sueur County, MN | 29,116 | 81.3 yrs | 4.3% | 36.2% |
| Waseca County, MN | 18,885 | 81.1 yrs | 3.6% | 37.6% |
| Watonwan County, MN | 11,205 | 81.8 yrs | 10.7% | 36.9% |
Conclusion
Considering all these factors, Blue Earth County, Minnesota has an overall health index grade of A, making it somewhat better than Minnesota, and notably better than the country as a whole.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about health in Blue Earth County, Minnesota.
How healthy is Blue Earth County, Minnesota?
Blue Earth County, Minnesota 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 Blue Earth County, Minnesota one of the healthiest counties in Minnesota?
Blue Earth County ranks 9th healthiest out of 87 counties in Minnesota by the Map AI Health Index, which measures life expectancy, disease rates, healthcare access, and the physical environment.
How long do people live in Blue Earth County, Minnesota?
People in Blue Earth County, Minnesota can expect to live 80.4 years on average, about the same as the Minnesota average of 80.8.
What percentage of Blue Earth County, Minnesota residents are uninsured?
4.3% of residents in Blue Earth County, Minnesota have no health insurance, about 1 in 23 people, about the same as the Minnesota rate of 4.7%.
What percentage of Blue Earth County, Minnesota residents are obese?
27.6% of adults in Blue Earth County, Minnesota are classified as obese, about 1 in 4, 7.0 points below the Minnesota rate of 34.5%.
How many cigarettes do smokers in Blue Earth County, Minnesota go through, and how much life does that cost?
Assuming each smoker smokes 10 cigarettes a day, that's about 94,108 cigarettes a day, 2.8 million a month, or 34.3 million a year! At 11 minutes* of life lost per cigarette, that's about 1.0 million minutes a day and 377.8 million a year lost to smoking overall - and since life expectancy in Blue Earth County is 80.4 years, that's roughly equivalent to 0.02 lifetimes a day, or 8.94 lifetimes a year.
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