Which Wisconsin Counties Have The Highest Alzheimer's Rates?

Many of us have been touched by the devastating condition we know as Alzheimer's Disease. Whether it's a parent, grandparent, friend, neighbor, sibling, or someone else important in your life, seeing this disease progress in a loved one can be gut-wrenching.

As our population overall gets older, the number of people directly impacted by Alzheimer's is expected to trend upward. As of the most recent data, how prevalent is Alzheimer's in Wisconsin? How does Wisconsin compare to other states in the country? What parts of Wisconsin have the highest rates of Alzheimer's?

When it comes to how Wisconsin compares to other states around the country, data from the National Institutes of Health places Wisconsin among the 20 states with the lowest Alzheimer's rates in the country.

Among those ages 65 and older, Wisconsin has the 16th-lowest rate of Alzheimer's in the country, with a rate of 10.6% of Wisconsinites in that age group impacted.

Wisconsin and neighboring Minnesota (17th-lowest, 10.7%) are two of only three states in the Upper Midwest that are among the 20 states with the lowest rates in the country. South Dakota is the final state, coming in at 14th-lowest with a rate of 10.5%.

As the Alzheimer's Association explains, the reasons for rates varying around the country are complex. The average age of a population in a place is one factor that contributes.

Just as rates vary from state to state, they vary from county to county within each state. Among Wisconsin's 72 counties, here are the counties in the Badger State with the highest rates of Alzheimer's, according to data from the Alzheimer's Association.