March 20, 2024. Reno/Sparks, NV – Washoe County ranks third among all Nevada counties for both health outcomes and health factors. That’s according to the 2024 County Health Rankings and Roadmaps report, released today, which measures how counties across the country score on today’s health (health outcomes) and tomorrow’s health (health factors) across dozens of different indicators.

Washoe County’s third place ranking in health outcomes, which measures length and quality of life, is the same as it was in 2023 but shows an improvement from the county’s fifth place ranking in 2010. The county also ranked third in health factors, which measures several variables from health behaviors and clinical care to social and economic factors and the physical environment.

Washoe County is performing better than both the state and national averages in some areas, including adult obesity and access to primary care physicians. But the report also highlighted gaps that need to be addressed.

“The data points very strongly to opportunities for improvement, but work I believe we have to undertake in this community – and that is STIs, adult smoking, excessive drinking and alcohol-impaired deaths, and the uninsured rate,” said Dr. John Packham, PhD, policy director for the Nevada Public Health Association.

Packham presented the findings during a community event hosted by Northern Nevada Public Health (NNPH) and Truckee Meadows Tomorrow (TMT), which also saw the unveiling of a new online community health dashboard for residents and policy makers to explore data on key health indicators facing northern Nevada. The dashboard is a partnership between NNPH and TMT to provide real-time health data to community leaders, policy makers and residents.

More information on the report, including data sources, methodology and a look across thousands of counties can be found online at countyhealthrankings.org.

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The County Health Rankings and Roadmaps is an initiative of the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The goal of the initiative is to improve health outcomes for all and to close the health disparities between those with the most and least opportunities for good health. More information here.

Please note the Washoe County Health District changed its name to Northern Nevada Public Health on Aug. 31, 2023. More information is here.

Northern Nevada Public Health (NNPH) is nationally accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board and has jurisdiction over all public health matters in Reno, Sparks, and Washoe County through the policy-making District Board of Health. NNPH consists of five divisions: Administrative Health Services, Air Quality Management, Community and Clinical Health Services, Environmental Health Services and Epidemiology & Public Health Preparedness. More info can be found here.