Waukesha County, Wisconsin –and its county seat, also named Waukesha — has had a long, complex relationship with public health. In 1869, when a man dying of diabetes was reportedly cured by drinking “a half dozen dipper fulls” of local spring water, it sparked a tourism boom, earning the town the nickname “Spring City” (per Encyclopedia of Milwaukee). That era ended around 1918, but demand for the city’s water continued.
Over time, industrial growth and population expansion led to overpumping of the aquifer. By 1987, the water table had dropped so low that Waukesha’s once-praised water was contaminated with radium. While Waukesha initially resisted efforts to fix this issue, the city reached a 40-year agreement in 2017 to buy clean water from Lake Michigan via Milwaukee.
Today, however, Waukesha County’s reputation has made a remarkable comeback. U.S. News & World Report now ranks it among the healthiest places to live in America.
Waukesha, Wisconsin named one of the healthiest places in America
For its Healthiest Communities 2024 report, U.S. News & World Report examined data on almost 3,000 counties, comparing them on 92 metrics in 10 categories in order to come up with the 500 healthiest counties. A wide variety of factors were taken into account, such as crime rates, food availability, and affordability of housing. They also considered mental health, safety, life expectancy, and healthcare access.
One county that fared quite well in their rankings, placing at #23 overall, was Waukesha County, Wisconsin. With a population health score of 86 out of a possible 100 points, the county’s residents had a life expectancy of 80.7 years versus the national average life expectancy of 75.8 years (this is the state with the highest life expectancy). The report additionally noted that only 4.1% of the population did not have health insurance. This was in comparison to 11.5% of people across the nation who did not have health coverage (learn why a health insurance death spiral is so dangerous). Waukesha County’s smoking rate of 11.6% was also lower than the national average, which was 19.0%.
Other outstanding findings from the healthiest places report
Waukesha County’s Food & Nutrition Score was also high, garnering 86 out of 100 possible points. The report noted that the county had 4.9 local food outlets for every 100,000 residents, compared to the 5.9 national average. However, they did better than the country as a whole when it came to the prevalence of diabetes and obesity, which are conditions often associated with poor nutrition. Waukesha’s diabetes prevalence was 6.7% versus 10.6% for the U.S. overall. Their obesity prevalence was 33.7% versus the national average of 37.4%.
Other areas where the county scored well were Economy and Infrastructure. Its score for Economy, which included such factors as employment, opportunity, and wealth, was again 86. For Infrastructure, which was based on things such as walkability, commute time, and internet access, its score was also 86.
