Special Report

This is the Worst County to Live in Wisconsin

Samuel Stebbins

Published: July 28, 2021 7:00 am

Last Updated: July 28, 2021 3:56 pm

Life expectancy fell by 1.5 years in the United States in 2020. The decline, driven by the COVID-19 pandemic and the opioid crisis, represents the most pronounced regression in public health in the United States since World War II.

While the most recent dip in life expectancy in the U.S. is alarming, there are many parts of the country where poor health outcomes and other socioeconomic hardships have long been the norm.

Using an index of three measures — life expectancy at birth, bachelor’s degree attainment, and poverty rate — 24/7 Wall St. identified the worst counties to live in in every state.

Wisconsin’s Juneau County ranks as the worst of the 72 counties in the state to live in. A college education is linked to longer life expectancies, greater financial security, and a stronger sense of control over one’s life. In Juneau County, only 13.7% of adults have a bachelor’s degree or higher, less than half the 30.1% share of adults across Wisconsin who do.

The county’s bachelor’s degree attainment rate is the lowest in the state and may partially explain why the local poverty rate is higher than the state rate and why life expectancy at birth in the area is below the average across Wisconsin.

Data on bachelor’s degree attainment and poverty are from the 2019 U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey and are five-year estimates. Data on average life expectancy at birth came from the 2021 County Health Rankings, a joint program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, and are based on mortality data from the years 2017 to 2019. Supplemental data on population and income are from the ACS, and unemployment rates are seasonally adjusted for May 2021 and are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is the worst county to live in every state.