Health Profile of Iron County, Wisconsin
Iron 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
Iron County Around averageLess healthy than 70% of counties in Wisconsin
Source: Map AI Methodology
General Health Overview
| Metric | Iron County | Wisconsin Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life Expectancy (years) | 80.1 | 79.6 | 78.3 |
| Uninsured Population (%) | 6.1% | 5.2% | 8.4% |
| Self-Rated Poor Health | 15.0% | 13.2% | 16.3% |
Life expectancy in Iron County is 80.1 years, about 0.5 years longer than the Wisconsin average of 79.6 years. The uninsured rate is 6.1%, higher than the Wisconsin average of 5.2%. Self-rated poor health is reported by 15.0% of residents, higher than the Wisconsin average of 13.2%.
Population by Age
Older residents
3,371 residents in Iron County are age 50 or older.
- 85+ 204 80 men · 124 women
- 75–84 614 288 men · 325 women
- 65–74 1,003 531 men · 472 women
- 50–64 1,550 805 men · 746 women
Younger residents
910 residents in Iron County are age 17 or younger.
- 12–17 303 141 boys · 161 girls
- 7–12 279 137 boys · 142 girls
- 3–7 200 109 boys · 91 girls
- 0–3 128 74 boys · 54 girls
About 483 residents in Iron County (7.8% of the population) are older than the area's life expectancy of 80.1 years.
The highlighted slice of the age axis is the share of residents older than the life-expectancy mark.
Disease Prevalence
| Disease / Condition | Iron County | Wisconsin Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes | 12.1% | 9.9% | 11.3% |
| Cancer | 9.2% | 7.3% | 6.9% |
| Heart Diseases | 8.9% | 6.7% | 7.1% |
| Adult Obesity | 34.8% | 34.9% | 34.3% |
The rate of heart disease in Iron County is about 32% higher than in Wisconsin. The rate of cancer in Iron County is about 27% higher than in Wisconsin. The rate of diabetes in Iron County is about 23% higher than in Wisconsin.
Health Behaviors
| Behavior | Iron County | Wisconsin Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smokers | 18.1% | 18.5% | 19.0% |
| Binge Drinking | 20.2% | 23.6% | 16.5% |
| Sedentary Lifestyle | 23.2% | 21.7% | 25.1% |
On average, health behaviors in Iron County are about the same as in Wisconsin.
Assuming each smoker smokes 10 cigarettes a day, that's about 9,515 cigarettes a day, 285,436 a month, or 3.5 million a year! At 11 minutes* of life lost per cigarette, that's about 104,660 minutes a day and 38.2 million a year lost to smoking overall - and since life expectancy in Iron County is 80.1 years, that's roughly equivalent to 0.00 lifetimes a day, or 0.91 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 | Iron County | Wisconsin Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air Pollution (μg/m³) | 4.72 | 6.34 | 6.09 |
With an annual average of 4.7 µg/m³ of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), air quality in Iron County is very good — well within WHO health guidelines, with minimal health risk from air pollution.
Iron County, WI Health Compared With Nearby Counties
Iron County, WI is the smallest of the 6 counties compared here, 6,210 residents against a local median of 16,080. Nothing separates Iron County, WI 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 uninsured, 9% above the local median at 6.1% against 5.6%. Iron County, WI has the 5th lowest uninsured of the 6 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Life expectancy | Uninsured | Obesity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iron County, WI | 6,210 | 80.1 yrs #1/6 | 6.1% #5/6 | 34.8% #2/6 |
| Ashland County, WI | 16,080 | 77.1 yrs | 6.4% | 39.8% |
| Gogebic County, MI | 14,317 | 77.3 yrs | 5.1% | 38.9% |
| Price County, WI | 14,089 | 78.8 yrs | 5.8% | 37.0% |
| Vilas County, WI | 23,647 | 79.0 yrs | 5.6% | 36.3% |
| Oneida County, WI | 38,164 | 78.7 yrs | 4.2% | 30.8% |
Conclusion
Considering all these factors, Iron County, Wisconsin has an overall health index grade of B, making it somewhat better than Wisconsin, and somewhat better than the country as a whole.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about health in Iron County, Wisconsin.
How healthy is Iron County, Wisconsin?
Iron County, Wisconsin 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 Iron County, Wisconsin one of the healthiest counties in Wisconsin?
Iron County ranks 51st healthiest out of 72 counties in Wisconsin by the Map AI Health Index, which measures life expectancy, disease rates, healthcare access, and the physical environment.
How long do people live in Iron County, Wisconsin?
People in Iron County, Wisconsin can expect to live 80.1 years on average, 0.5 years longer than the Wisconsin average of 79.6.
How many people lack health insurance in Iron County, Wisconsin?
6.1% of residents in Iron County, Wisconsin have no health insurance, about 1 in 16 people, 0.9 points above the Wisconsin rate of 5.2%.
How common is obesity in Iron County, Wisconsin?
34.8% of adults in Iron County, Wisconsin are classified as obese, about 1 in 3, about the same as the Wisconsin rate of 34.9%.
What is the biggest health concern in Iron County, Wisconsin?
Compared with Wisconsin as a whole, heart disease stands out most: the adult rate here is 8.9%, about 32% higher than the Wisconsin rate of 6.7%.
How many cigarettes do smokers in Iron County, Wisconsin go through, and how much life does that cost?
Assuming each smoker smokes 10 cigarettes a day, that's about 9,515 cigarettes a day, 285,436 a month, or 3.5 million a year! At 11 minutes* of life lost per cigarette, that's about 104,660 minutes a day and 38.2 million a year lost to smoking overall - and since life expectancy in Iron County is 80.1 years, that's roughly equivalent to 0.00 lifetimes a day, or 0.91 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 →