Health and Fitness : The Annual "How We're Doing" Report

According to "County Health Rankings and Road Maps," Benton County is a pretty great place to live.

According to an article in, "The Neighbor," Benton County ranks at 24th in the state for Health outcomes statewide. The average life expectancy in Benton County is 79.4 years (0.7 more than the statewide average) putting us at #38 for our Length of Life ranking, while ranking our quality of life at #17 in the state.

The life expectancy in the United States is on the rise, with some exceptions. Between 1960 and 2019, the life expectancy of Americans rose by roughly a decade to the age of 79. Attributing to the added time is improved healthcare advancements, changing and improving lifestyle choices, healthier diets, and reducing smoking and alcohol consumption.

Other things play into the health of a community like access to health care, clean air and water, as well as affordable housing, all contribute to the general health and well-being of residents.

The 2022 County Health Rankings & Roadmaps from the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, identify counties with the longest life expectancy in Iowa. Measuring the average number of years from birth a person can expect to live, they calculated the age based on the number of deaths in a given time period and the average number of people at risk of dying during that period. Counties with unreliable or insufficient data were excluded from the analysis. The mortality data came from the National Vital Statistics System.

What county is #1? That would be Winneshiek County came in at #1 for the length of life, with an average life expectancy of 83.5 years (4.8 more than the statewide average). Their healthy outcomes ranked at #2, and their quality of life was ranked at #4.