This is the Worst County to Live in Minnesota

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.

Wadena County ranks as the worst place to live in Minnesota. Life expectancy at birth in the county is nearly half a decade less than it is across the state as a whole. College-educated adults are more likely to report better health outcomes than those without a college degree, and in Wadena County, just 13.8% of the 25 and older population have a bachelor’s degree or higher, about half the share of adults with a four-year degree across Minnesota.

Like many U.S. counties lagging in key socioeconomic indicators, Wadena County’s population is shrinking. Over the last five years, the number of people living there fell by 0.7%, even as Minnesota’s population expanded by 3.3%.

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.