U.S. News ranks Winneshiek County the #1 healthiest rural county in the Midwest

Take a bow, Winneshiek County!  Your habits have led U.S. News to declare the county one of the top 25 healthiest counties in all of the United States.

Data for the survey were gathered and analyzed by the University of Missouri Center for Applied Research and Engagement Systems (CARES).  The statistics were separated into ten categories.

Overall, Winneshiek County received a score of 86.3--best in Iowa, best in the Midwest among small rural counties and 22nd overall out of all the counties in the United States.  Iowa counties had an average score of 66.0, while the national average was 52.3.

Winneshiek County was scored highest in the health of its population, getting 94 out of 100 points.  The county had a 96 score on the availability of primary care doctors to the population.  It also did well on health Infrastructure 80, with a 99 score on Internet access, and access to fresh food, with a rate that was seven times higher than the national average.

All ten categories were scored above 50, but the lowest categories were the economy, which got a 61 rating because of slower than average business growth rate, and, surprisingly, education, which got a 58 rating because 38 percent of students have longer than a 5 mile drive to school.

Complete Winneshiek County details can be found at: https://www.usnews.com/news/healthiest-communities/iowa/winneshiek-county