Submitted by Keyboardl t3_11ei4qa in Washington
Averaging 95.71 IQ, Ferry County reports the second lowest mean intelligence scores in all of Washington. Ferry also has the second worst education system in the state- students in Ferry County lag behind the average Washington student by about 1.13 grades.
Ferry has the highest rate of premature death in the state (almost double the state average) as well as some of the highest rates of physical and mental unhealthiness. 21% of the county are classified as having poor health which is well above Washington’s average. About 33% of Ferry residents are considered obese which is, you guessed it, well above Washington’s average.
Ferry has the lowest Food Environment Index in Washington (by a lot), which is a measure of access to healthy food. Above average binge drinking rates and below average access to exercise opportunities continue to support the conclusion that Ferry County is one of the worst counties in Washington if not the worst.
Ferry has a well-above average teen birth rate as well as one of the lowest rates of insurance. Ferry County’s population proves much less vaccinated than any other county- only about 17% compared to Washington’s 47% average. To put this in perspective, Ferry is 2.47 standard deviations below Washington’s average when it comes to vaccination. That means that if Washington had up to four times the number of counties, following the current distribution, Ferry would still have the lowest rate of vaccination!
As you’d expect, Ferry is one of the least educated counties in Washington and is the second most unemployed county at ~11.5% of it’s population. Ferry has the second highest percentage of children living in poverty, 28%, and ranks second in income inequality with a whopping z-score of -2.77
Ferry has the highest rate of motor vehicle fatalities, and ranks among the highest in injury-related deaths. Ferry has the highest suicide rate. Households in Ferry County average $47,700/year making it the poorest county in Washington.
In conclusion, Ferry is the worst county in Washington. It consistently reports among the worst numbers related to health and wellness. Ferry County residents have some of the lowest IQs in the state which result in them having the least economic productivity. Various county polling and ranking organizations consistently rank Ferry as the worst county in Washington when it comes to health outcomes.
This is a warning to anyone interested in moving to this county. Your children won’t be challenged academically and you’ll be surrounded by some of the most physically and mentally unwell people in the state.
Remember, any anecdotes you hear about this county, in this subreddit and otherwise, are nothing compared to the data reported by credible organizations as presented here.
Noisy_Pip t1_jae6vvd wrote
That explains how the property we bought in Ferry County was so inexpensive! Seriously though, while all of the stats you gave are undoubtedly true, it's really a beautiful county.
We made an assumption the whole town would be deep red, unfriendly and ignorant and, thankfully, that hasn't been the case.
Having said that, I'm not sure what the point of your post is - if others don't move and try to lift up the county, or spotlight all the inadequacies, how will it ever improve? Do we just wipe it from the map and pretend it doesn't exist?