Madera County is located in the Central Valley of California and is known for its diverse landscape. The county has a population of 151,845 and is home to many rural communities and small towns. Health care has long been an issue in Madera County due to its relative lack of resources compared to larger cities. This has resulted in limited access to healthcare services for certain areas within the county. Fortunately, there are a variety of local hospitals and medical facilities providing quality health care to residents throughout Madera County. These include Madera Community Hospital, Adventist Health's Oakhurst Medical Center, Mercy Hospital’s Chowchilla facility, Children’s Hospital Central California’s Madera office, and Kaiser Permanente’s Fresno Medical Center. These facilities offer primary care services such as family medicine and obstetrics/gynecology. In addition, many of them have specialty services that provide more complex treatments such as cardiology, neurology, oncology, orthopedics, ophthalmology and more. With the help of these hospitals and medical facilities, Madera County residents have access to quality healthcare close to home.
The health of a city has many different factors. It can refer to air quality, water quality, risk of getting respiratory disease or cancer. The people you live around can also affect your health as some places have lower or higher rates of physical activity, increased alcohol intake, smoking, obesity, and cancer rates.
Physicians per Capita
There are 97 physicians per 100,000 population in Madera County. The US average is 210 per 100,000 people.
Health Cost Index
The annual BestPlaces Health Cost Index for the Madera County area is 82.7 (lower=better). The US average is 100.
82.7 / 100
Example: 110 = 10% more expensive than national average.
Water Qualtiy Index
The annual BestPlaces Water Quality Index for the Madera County area is 16 (100=best). The US average is 55.
16 / 100
Note that this is a measure of Watershed quality, not the water that comes from your faucet. The EPA has stated that a healthy watershed is closely related to drinking water quality. The EPA has a complex method of measuring watershed quality using 15 indicators such as pH, chemicals, metals, and bacteria.
Superfund Index
The annual BestPlaces Superfund Index for the Madera County area is 98 (100=best). The US average is 87.
98 / 100
The EPA's Superfund program is responsible for cleaning up some of our nation's most contaminated land. Our index is based on the number of active Superfund sites (over 15,000 in the United States), with particular attention paid to those on the National Priorities List which pose the greatest health danger.
Quick Facts
Commuting can effect your health. The average person in Madera County commutes 25.6 minutes one-way, which is shorter than the US average of 26.4 minutes.
Air Quality Index
The annual BestPlaces Air Quality Index for the Madera County area is 57 (100=best). The US average is 58.
57 / 100
This is based on new measures of hazardous air pollutants from the EPA, called the National Air Toxics Assessment. This analysis models respiratory illness and cancer risk down to the zip code level, providing better detail and insight than the previous analysis based solely on results from air monitoring stations.