Pennington Health & Wellness

Pennington County ranked 28th among 59 South Dakota counties scored on the basis of health outcomes in 2012, according to a collaborative project conducted by the Population Health Institute at the University of Wisconsin and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Pennington County ranked 41st among 59 counties on the basis of health factors. Based on comparing local information to state and national data, young people are especially at risk. The teen birth rate is higher than state and national averages, the graduation rate is lower, and more children live in poverty and in single parent households.

Regarding other segments of the population, there are also higher rates of risky behavior as indicated by a greater percentage of adults smoking. In addition, the incidence of sexually transmitted infections exceeds the state average and is over five times the national average. To compare Pennington County to other counties, go to: County Health Rankings: Mobilizing Action Toward Community Health. For more data related to the risks faced by young people in Pennington County, see data provided by Kids Count at the University of South Dakota.

Data from U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

County-level health statistics are also available from the U.S. Deparment of Health & Human Services. Compare Pennington County to similar counties in the United States and to the national median for the following subjects:

- Average life expectancy, all causes of death, self-rated health status, and average number of unhealthy days in the past month.

- Leading causes of death.

- Measures of birth and death. This data indicates that infant mortality and suicide rates in Pennington County are higher than in similar counties and in the nation as a whole.