This Is The Worst County To Live In Arizona

Phoenix AZ

29 July, 2021

10:50 AM

Description

By Samuel Stebbins, 24/7 Wall St. Phoenix 2021-07-28 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. Apache County, which spans over much of Arizona's eastern border, ranks as the worst place to live in the state. An estimated 11.9% of the local labor force are unemployed, well above the 6.7% jobless rate across Arizona. A lack of sufficient employment opportunities may partly explain the county's high poverty rate, which at 35.5% is more than double the 15.1% poverty rate across Arizona. Financial hardship and job scarcity may be pushing people out of Apache County. In the last five years, the local population has contracted by 0.9%, even as Arizona's population expanded by 7.4% over the same period. 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. Can't see the rest of the article? Click here to view the original story.This story was originally published by 24/7 Wall St., a news organization that produces real-time business commentary and data-driven reporting for state and local markets across the country.