The counties in Illinois ranked highest for health outcomes in a new study from the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute were in suburban regions – DuPage, Kendall and Monroe.
The County Health Rankings & Roadmaps report assigned each county a “z-score” that is applied to standardized health measures for each county. The lowest z-scores reflect best health outcomes and factors.
The analysis ranks counties in the categories of social and economic factors, such as education attainment; physical environment, including air and water quality; clinical care options; and behaviors such as tobacco use and physical activity. These, in turn, help to determine a health-outcomes ranking, which is based on the length and quality of life.
Cook, Illinois’ most populous county, ranked 44th among the 102 counties with a score of -0.19. In contrast, DuPage scored -1.95; Kendall, -1.82; and Monroe, -1.67.
The rankings do not measure COVID-19 cases or deaths because the analysis used data from 2017-2019. But the numbers do provide a backdrop to examine systemic inequities that shaped how different communities were affected by the pandemic, the researchers said.
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Ranking of Illinois Counties’ Health Outcomes
| County | Z-Score | Health Outcomes Rank |
| DuPage | -1.95 | 1 |
| Kendall | -1.82 | 2 |
| Monroe | -1.67 | 3 |
| McHenry | -1.5 | 4 |
| Lake | -1.45 | 5 |
| Woodford | -1.25 | 6 |
| Kane | -1.24 | 7 |
| Piatt | -1.16 | 8 |
| Will | -1.15 | 9 |
| Jasper | -1.06 | 10 |
| Carroll | -0.97 | 11 |
| Clinton | -0.91 | 12 |
| McLean | -0.9 | 13 |
| Washington | -0.84 | 14 |
| Grundy | -0.8 | 15 |
| Tazewell | -0.8 | 16 |
| Jo Daviess | -0.79 | 17 |
| Brown | -0.79 | 18 |
| Moultrie | -0.77 | 19 |
| DeKalb | -0.76 | 20 |
| Boone | -0.7 | 21 |
| Bureau | -0.69 | 22 |
| Hamilton | -0.61 | 23 |
| Lee | -0.56 | 24 |
| Whiteside | -0.55 | 25 |
| Henry | -0.54 | 26 |
| Effingham | -0.54 | 27 |
| Champaign | -0.53 | 28 |
| Menard | -0.52 | 29 |
| Ogle | -0.48 | 30 |
| Cumberland | -0.42 | 31 |
| Wabash | -0.42 | 32 |
| Clay | -0.33 | 33 |
| Hancock | -0.32 | 34 |
| Putnam | -0.31 | 35 |
| Mercer | -0.3 | 36 |
| Shelby | -0.26 | 37 |
| Crawford | -0.26 | 38 |
| Douglas | -0.26 | 39 |
| Johnson | -0.24 | 40 |
| Calhoun | -0.24 | 41 |
| McDonough | -0.23 | 42 |
| Rock Island | -0.19 | 43 |
| Cook | -0.19 | 44 |
| Warren | -0.19 | 45 |
| Adams | -0.17 | 46 |
| Coles | -0.16 | 47 |
| Ford | -0.13 | 48 |
| Clark | -0.06 | 49 |
| Stephenson | -0.02 | 50 |
| Richland | 0.04 | 51 |
| Logan | 0.04 | 52 |
| Perry | 0.06 | 53 |
| Fayette | 0.07 | 54 |
| De Witt | 0.08 | 55 |
| Scott | 0.1 | 56 |
| Bond | 0.11 | 57 |
| Christian | 0.14 | 58 |
| LaSalle | 0.16 | 59 |
| Knox | 0.16 | 60 |
| Jersey | 0.17 | 61 |
| Williamson | 0.17 | 62 |
| Schuyler | 0.19 | 63 |
| Marshall | 0.21 | 64 |
| Sangamon | 0.21 | 65 |
| Livingston | 0.23 | 66 |
| Edgar | 0.25 | 67 |
| Randolph | 0.35 | 68 |
| Mason | 0.36 | 69 |
| Wayne | 0.38 | 70 |
| Edwards | 0.39 | 71 |
| Madison | 0.39 | 72 |
| Macoupin | 0.41 | 73 |
| Fulton | 0.43 | 74 |
| Montgomery | 0.48 | 75 |
| Pike | 0.49 | 76 |
| Pope | 0.49 | 77 |
| Morgan | 0.51 | 78 |
| Peoria | 0.52 | 79 |
| Greene | 0.55 | 80 |
| Union | 0.55 | 81 |
| Cass | 0.56 | 82 |
| Jackson | 0.57 | 83 |
| Stark | 0.58 | 84 |
| White | 0.58 | 85 |
| Iroquois | 0.61 | 86 |
| Kankakee | 0.65 | 87 |
| Henderson | 0.7 | 88 |
| Macon | 0.71 | 89 |
| Winnebago | 0.83 | 90 |
| Jefferson | 0.93 | 91 |
| Lawrence | 0.95 | 92 |
| Franklin | 0.96 | 93 |
| St. Clair | 1.04 | 94 |
| Massac | 1.12 | 95 |
| Marion | 1.49 | 96 |
| Gallatin | 1.65 | 97 |
| Saline | 1.72 | 98 |
| Vermilion | 1.87 | 99 |
| Hardin | 2.04 | 100 |
| Alexander | 2.11 | 101 |
| Pulaski | 2.28 | 102 |
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