Marin Tops State Health Rankings

MARIN COUNTY, CA — California’s wealthiest county is also its healthiest.

That’s according to the most recent County Health Rankings & Roadmaps report, which listed the North Bay county atop its rankings for the 11th time in 12 years.

Marin ranked No. 1 in health factors and health outcomes among California’s 58 counties.

The county scored high marks in the survey for length of life, quality of life, and clinical care.

It ranked No. 2 in health behaviors and No. 3 in social and economic factors.

Marin was ranked the state’s richest county in a 2020 TownCharts survey.

But the survey also reveals Marin has room for improvement in several areas.

Marin has one of the worst scores in income inequality (53rd out of 58 counties) and received low grades in housing affordability (26th).

The rankings illustrate concerning disparities in clinical care among racial groups in Marin.

Mammography rates for African American women are less than half of the rates among white women.

Marin Health Officer Dr. Matt Willis acknowledged the disparities the survey revealed to be a cause for concern

“The rankings echo what we’ve seen in the pandemic: as a county, we’re doing well overall, but our weakness is inequities within Marin.” Willis said in a statement.

“COVID 19 has deepened differences between groups, and those differences fall along lines of race and income. That’s the work ahead of us as a community, through the pandemic and beyond. When all are able to thrive, that will be real cause for celebration.”

Another concerning statistic in the study was accidental injury death rates.

The leading cause of accidental death in Marin County remains drug overdose, followed by motor vehicle accidents.

This is consistent with a chronic pattern of high rates of substance use in Marin.

Marin also scores poorly for alcohol-impaired driving deaths (35th), and excessive drinking (48th).

To develop the Rankings, researchers used five measures to assess the level of overall health or “health outcomes” by county: the rate of people dying before age 75; the percentage of people who reported being in fair or poor health; the number of days in poor mental health; and the rate of low-birthweight infants.

Researchers then looked at factors that affect people’s health within four categories: health behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors, and physical environment. Each year the foundation changes the factors evaluated in the rankings to match emerging public health issues.