Livingston County, New York

Community Information

Livingston County is a rural/suburban community, which encompasses 638 square miles. Within the county there are 17 towns and 9 major villages: there are no cities. The population is64,154 people. The median age is 35.3 years. The population aged 65+ years represents 12.6% of the total, which is an increase from previous Census 11.4%. Overall, 50.2% of population is male; 49.8% is female. In Livingston County 94.5% is white, 3.1% African American, 1% Asian and other races comprises 3% of the total. Hispanic or Latino persons represent 2.5% of the population, an increase from 2.3% from 2000 Census. The median household income is $43,479 . Among all Livingston County families,     12.8 % are living below the poverty level (based on US Census Bureau 2008), which is a significant increase from 5.8% from the 2000 Census. However, of the poverty level families with female householders, no husband present, 23.2 % is living below poverty level. In addition, 13.5% of children less than 5 years are below poverty level, which is lower than the New York State rate of 20.8%. Based on 2004 estimate, the percentage of children fewer than 18 living in at or below poverty level increased to 13.5% from 11.6% in 2000. While this compares favorably to New York State rate of 21%, childhood poverty has been identified as a focus area by the community. In Livingston County, 63.5 are in the labor force. Of these, 3.9% are unemployed, while 36.5% of the population is not in the labor force. Of females older than 16 years, 62.1% are in the labor force. Per the NYS Department of Labor, the rate of unemployment has increased in Livingston County, currently at (8.1%) as of July 2009.
 
Livingston County enjoys a broad distribution of occupations with Management/Professional occupations having the largest percentage 32%.Of the population >25 years, 33.8% are high school graduates, while 13.2% are high school dropouts and 4.4% have less than a 9th grade education. In New York State, 55 counties have higher dropout rates: 82.4% of the population has a high school or higher degree.
 
Diseases of the heart are the leading causes of death among Livingston County residents as documented in the Livingston County Community Health Assessment. According to the New York State Department of Health, in 2007, the rate of diseases of the heart among Livingston County residents was 213.6, which was an increase of 40.6 from 2006. Review of Livingston County mortality rates show an increasing trend from 2004 to 2007 among county residents.   Two major health behaviors that prevent diseases of the heart are proper nutrition and physical activity. According to the New York State Behavior Risk Survey, in Livingston County, only 25% of adult residents consume 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day. Among adults residing in New York State and New York State, exclusive of New York City, 27.1% and 27.7%, respectively, consume 5 or more fruits and vegetables per day. New York State has set a goal to increase the percentage of adults who consume at least 5 or more fruits and vegetables per day to 33% by 2013. In Livingston County, 81.2% of adult residents participate in some type of physical activity during their leisure-time non-working hours. According to the New York State Department of Health, from 2003 to 2007, lung, breast and colon cancer incidence rates were higher than New York State’s rate. Morality rates for colon and lung cancers among Livingston County residents were also higher than rates among New York State residents.
The LCDOH plans to create, implement and evaluate policy, systems and environmental change strategies to prevent chronic disease among all Livingston County residents; however, one are of focus will on local worksites.