On March 29, the 2023 County Health Rankings were released. For more than a decade, the annual Rankings have helped to broaden the nation’s understanding about what shapes health by providing data on more than 90 health-influencing factors. County leaders across the nation can use the Rankings to find county-level data on factors including housing, children living in poverty and high school completion that all impact how well and how long we live.

This year’s Rankings release explores the connection between civic health and thriving people and places by looking at two elements of civic health: civic infrastructure, the spaces and policies that support opportunities for residents to stay connected; civic participation, the ways people engage in community life; and how both impact overall health. The 2023 National Findings Report details how intentional investments in civic spaces such as libraries, parks and schools can foster inclusive participation and have a positive impact on health equity. Specifically,

• Civic infrastructure does not look the same across U.S. counties. Counties in certain regions of our country—generally places with more social and economic opportunities in the Northeast, West and some parts of the Midwest—have more available and well-resourced civic infrastructure.
• Typically, civic infrastructure goes hand in hand with social and economic opportunity and health. Counties with more available and well-resourced civic infrastructure also have higher rates of high school completion, higher household incomes, less income inequality, fewer children living in poverty and fewer adults without health insurance. In these counties, people tend to live longer.
• For all communities, well-resourced civic infrastructure is not a given. Regions of our country bear the burden of a legacy of specific types of structural racism and disinvestment. Civic infrastructure is less available and under-resourced among counties along the U.S.-Mexico Border, within the Black Belt Region, surrounding American Indian/Alaska Native Tribal areas and within Appalachia.

Local leaders can read important context about their county, dig deep into their data, connect with community partners and explore ways to expand civic power among their residents and improve health with more than 400 evidence-informed strategies in the What Works for Health tool. Counties can also:

• Join CHR&R's webinar “Engaging across differences: Constructive dialogue for civic health,” on April 18 at 3pm ET, where participants will hear from the Constructive Dialogue Institute and learn about the practice of bridging to facilitate belonging, inclusion and civic participation.
• Hear more from County Health Rankings & Roadmaps experts and how county leaders can leverage this data during NACo’s County Health Day webinar on April 19 at 2 p.m. ET.