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County Health Rankings & Roadmaps (CHR&R) is a program of the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute that publishes health data for nearly every county in the United States. This guide is for researchers and analysts who need to know what the data represents, how the 2025 model differs from the earlier one, and which downloadable files answer which question. All facts below were read on the program’s own pages on 2026-11-07.
What is County Health Rankings & Roadmaps?
CHR&R describes itself as providing “a snapshot of the health of nearly every county in the nation.” It is a program of the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute (UWPHI), with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (see our guide to Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grants for the funder’s own programs). Beyond county data, the program’s site lists a national report, What Works for Health (a database of evidence-informed policies and programs), Narratives for Health, webinars, a podcast and a blog.
Who runs it and what does it cover?
The data are organised by county and by state. The site offers a data-and-resources page for each state, and the documentation page links state data downloads for 2025. Searches for a particular state (for example Ohio, Michigan or Wisconsin) land on those state pages; the national files described below contain all counties in one download.
The model: 2014 to 2025
In 2025 UWPHI introduced a new model of health, evolved from the 2014 CHR model. Its four components are:
- Population Health and Well-being, which replaces “Health Outcomes” and adds well-being, including quality of life;
- Community Conditions, which replaces “Health Factors”;
- Societal Rules, the written and unwritten rules that shape community conditions;
- Power, the ability to achieve a purpose and effect change.
The new model also introduces constructs for health promotion and harm reduction, climate, and civic and community resources. CHR&R states nominal weights for the two components that have summary measures: within Population Health and Well-being, Length of Life 50% and Quality of Life 50%; within Community Conditions, Health Infrastructure 25%, Physical Environment 25% and Social and Economic Factors 50%. Component measures are standardized to z-scores and combined using those weights. The program states there is currently no summary measure for Societal Rules or Power.
Does this change how you compare years?
As a practical matter, yes: component names, groupings and weights differ between the 2014 and 2025 models, so a series that spans both should not assume that “Health Outcomes” and “Population Health and Well-being”, or “Health Factors” and “Community Conditions”, are the same quantity. The program publishes change documentation (listed below); consult it before building a trend.
How to find and download the data
The “Data Documentation” page under Methodology and Sources is the researcher’s entry point. The table maps each item it lists to the question it answers.
| File or document (as listed) | Use it to |
|---|---|
| National data, 2025 and 2024: national spreadsheet | Read all counties in one table without code |
| Trend data, CSV and SAS | Analyse change across release years |
| Analytic data, CSV and SAS | Load the measures into statistical software |
| Supplemental release (March 2026) | Check for later additions to the analytic data |
| Data dictionary, 2025 (PDF, XLSX) | Look up what each variable means |
| Analytic and trends documentation; technical document | Understand how the files are built |
| “2025 Comparability Across States” | Judge whether states can be compared directly |
| “Measure Changes (2023-2024)” and “Changes to Select Measures 2010-2024” | See which measures were altered before trending them |
| Select datasets and measure calculation code on GitHub | Reproduce how a measure is calculated |
Earlier years are on a separate “previous years” page. For reproducibility, record the release year and file name you used and keep that year’s data dictionary with the data; our data management plan term covers what a plan documents.
Strengths and limits
- Strength: one program supplies county-level measures, a documented model, trend files and calculation code, which supports reproducible secondary analysis.
- Limit: the 2025 model changed component names, groupings and weights relative to 2014, and the program publishes measure-change documents; check them before trending.
- Limit: the program says Societal Rules and Power currently have no summary measure, so those components are not scored outcomes.
- Limit: county measures describe places, not individuals; inferring individual-level effects from them is an ecological inference. For how an epidemiological rate is defined, see attack rate.
Alternatives and companions
| County Health Rankings & Roadmaps | CDC PLACES | |
|---|---|---|
| Operator | University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |
| Geography | Nearly every U.S. county | Counties, places, census tracts and ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (areas with at least 50 adult residents) |
| Basis | Documented model of health with weighted components | Model-based small area estimates from BRFSS, with Census and American Community Survey inputs; 40 measures |
For vulnerability rather than health measures, see our guide to the Social Vulnerability Index.
FAQ
What is the County Health Rankings model?
It is the UWPHI model of health. The 2014 version was replaced in 2025 by a model with four components: Population Health and Well-being, Community Conditions, Societal Rules and Power.
Where is the County Health Rankings data download?
On the Data Documentation page under Methodology and Sources, which lists national, trend and analytic files for 2025 and 2024 plus state data pages.
Does it include life expectancy?
Length of Life is one of the two sub-components of Population Health and Well-being in the 2025 model, with a nominal weight of 50%. The 2025 data dictionary defines the exact measures.
Can I compare 2025 results with earlier years?
Only after reading the program’s measure-change documents; the model, component names and weights changed between 2014 and 2025.
Sources
- County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, About us, countyhealthrankings.org/about-us (read 2026-11-07).
- County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, Data Documentation, countyhealthrankings.org/health-data/methodology-and-sources/data-documentation (read 2026-11-07).
- County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, The Evolution of the Model, countyhealthrankings.org/health-data/methodology-and-sources/methods/the-evolution-of-the-model (read 2026-11-07).
- CDC, PLACES: Local Data for Better Health, cdc.gov/places (read 2026-11-07).
