Health Profile of Ritchie County, West Virginia
Ritchie 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.
-
C
Ritchie County Below averageLess healthy than 74% of counties in West Virginia
Source: Map AI Methodology
General Health Overview
| Metric | Ritchie County | West Virginia Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life Expectancy (years) | 76.7 | 76.1 | 78.3 |
| Uninsured Population (%) | 7.8% | 6.0% | 8.4% |
| Self-Rated Poor Health | 24.2% | 23.2% | 16.3% |
Life expectancy in Ritchie County is 76.7 years, about 0.6 years longer than the West Virginia average of 76.1 years. The uninsured rate is 7.8%, higher than the West Virginia average of 6.0%. Self-rated poor health is reported by 24.2% of residents, higher than the West Virginia average of 23.2%.
Population by Age
Older residents
3,654 residents in Ritchie County are age 50 or older.
- 85+ 166 52 men · 114 women
- 75–84 524 248 men · 276 women
- 65–74 1,040 517 men · 523 women
- 50–64 1,923 999 men · 924 women
Younger residents
1,607 residents in Ritchie County are age 17 or younger.
- 12–17 536 294 boys · 242 girls
- 7–12 489 248 boys · 241 girls
- 3–7 339 160 boys · 179 girls
- 0–3 242 120 boys · 123 girls
About 585 residents in Ritchie County (7.1% of the population) are older than the area's life expectancy of 76.7 years.
The highlighted slice of the age axis is the share of residents older than the life-expectancy mark.
Disease Prevalence
| Disease / Condition | Ritchie County | West Virginia Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes | 15.1% | 14.5% | 11.3% |
| Cancer | 7.4% | 7.2% | 6.9% |
| Heart Diseases | 9.6% | 9.2% | 7.1% |
| Adult Obesity | 42.0% | 40.3% | 34.3% |
On average, diseases in Ritchie County are about the same as in West Virginia.
Health Behaviors
| Behavior | Ritchie County | West Virginia Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smokers | 26.0% | 25.3% | 19.0% |
| Binge Drinking | 11.6% | 11.9% | 16.5% |
| Sedentary Lifestyle | 33.9% | 31.8% | 25.1% |
On average, health behaviors in Ritchie County are about the same as in West Virginia.
Assuming each smoker smokes 10 cigarettes a day, that's about 17,286 cigarettes a day, 518,584 a month, or 6.3 million a year! At 11 minutes* of life lost per cigarette, that's about 190,147 minutes a day and 69.4 million a year lost to smoking overall - and since life expectancy in Ritchie County is 76.7 years, that's roughly equivalent to 0.00 lifetimes a day, or 1.72 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 | Ritchie County | West Virginia Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air Pollution (μg/m³) | 6.33 | 6.17 | 6.09 |
With an annual average of 6.3 µg/m³ of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), air quality in Ritchie County is good — generally safe air quality for the vast majority of residents.
Ritchie County, WV Health Compared With Nearby Counties
Ritchie County, WV is typical in size for this group, 8,286 residents against a local median of 7,288, so the measures below are close to a like for like comparison. Nothing separates Ritchie County, WV 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, 1% above the local median at 42.0% against 41.6%. Ritchie County, WV has the 6th lowest obesity of the 6 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Life expectancy | Uninsured | Obesity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ritchie County, WV | 8,286 | 76.7 yrs #4/6 | 7.8% #3/6 | 42.0% #6/6 |
| Pleasants County, WV | 7,521 | 76.3 yrs | 10.4% | 38.3% |
| Gilmer County, WV | 7,288 | 77.2 yrs | 6.7% | 38.1% |
| Tyler County, WV | 8,063 | 78.1 yrs | 7.9% | 41.8% |
| Calhoun County, WV | 6,048 | 74.4 yrs | 9.0% | 41.6% |
| Wirt County, WV | 5,053 | 77.5 yrs | 6.9% | 41.9% |
Conclusion
Considering all these factors, Ritchie County, West Virginia has an overall health index grade of C, making it somewhat better than West Virginia, and about on par with the country as a whole.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about health in Ritchie County, West Virginia.
What is the health grade for Ritchie County, West Virginia?
Ritchie County, West Virginia 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 Ritchie County, West Virginia one of the healthiest counties in West Virginia?
Ritchie County ranks 41st healthiest out of 55 counties in West Virginia by the Map AI Health Index, which measures life expectancy, disease rates, healthcare access, and the physical environment.
How long do people live in Ritchie County, West Virginia?
People in Ritchie County, West Virginia can expect to live 76.7 years on average, 0.6 years longer than the West Virginia average of 76.1.
How many people lack health insurance in Ritchie County, West Virginia?
7.8% of residents in Ritchie County, West Virginia have no health insurance, about 1 in 13 people, 1.8 points above the West Virginia rate of 6.0%.
What is the obesity rate in Ritchie County, West Virginia?
42.0% of adults in Ritchie County, West Virginia are classified as obese, about 1 in 2, 1.7 points above the West Virginia rate of 40.3%.
How many cigarettes do smokers in Ritchie County, West Virginia go through, and how much life does that cost?
Assuming each smoker smokes 10 cigarettes a day, that's about 17,286 cigarettes a day, 518,584 a month, or 6.3 million a year! At 11 minutes* of life lost per cigarette, that's about 190,147 minutes a day and 69.4 million a year lost to smoking overall - and since life expectancy in Ritchie County is 76.7 years, that's roughly equivalent to 0.00 lifetimes a day, or 1.72 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 →