Survey Ranks County’s Overall Health

Santa Barbara County ranked 18th out of all California counties in terms of overall health, according to a recent survey by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, trailing Ventura County, which ranked 17th, and San Luis Obispo, which ranked 13th. Twenty percent of Santa Barbara respondents reported being in fair to poor health—as opposed to 14 and 12 percent respectively for Ventura and SLO. Of the three, Santa Barbara had the highest percentage of uninsured adults and children, and the lowest percentage—75 percent—of high school gradates. Santa Barbara’s premature death index was higher than Ventura’s, but less than SLO’s. According to the survey, released last week, Santa Barbara residents cumulatively lost 5,2,60 years of life due to premature death last year. A premature death is any death that occurs before the age of 75. Santa Barbara County’s violent crime rate—per 100,000 residents—was considerably higher than the other two counties’ as well. In Santa Barbara, the violent crime rate was 417 per 100,00. For Ventura it was 272, and SLO 306.