|
 Wise County
Land Area: 403 square miles
Population (2000): 40,123
Most of Wise County lies on the Cumberland Plateau where the landscape
is a convolution of hills and hollows carved over the eons by a complexity
of small streams. Magnificent Powell Valley is in the southern part
of the county, wedged between Stone and Powell Mountains.
 The economy is based on service industries,
trade, coal mining and forestry, and transfer payments (retirement pensions,
disability income, and welfare benefits). Manufacturing also contributes
to the local economy. In 1995, the largest employers in the county were
Westmoreland Coal Company, the school board, Buster Brown Apparel, Fournier
Furniture, Paramont Coal Corporation, and Powell Mountain Coal Company.
Like many other places in the Virginia mountains, Wise County is a paradise
for those who love the outdoors. In the Jefferson National Forest are
the Cave Springs Recreation Area, Lake Keokee, Roaring Fork Trail, High
Knob Lake and Recreation Area, and Bark Camp Lake and Recreation Area.
These places offer facilities for camping, hiking, biking, swimming,
boating, hunting, and other outdoor sports.
There are several small towns in Wise County - Appalachia (pop. 1,839),
Big Stone Gap (pop. 4,856), Coeburn (pop. 1,996), Pound (pop. 1,089),
St. Paul (pop. 1,000), and Wise (pop.3,255), which serves as the seat
of government. The City of Norton also lies within the boundaries of
Wise County.
Death rates from most common causes are higher in Wise County than in Virginia - e.g., heart disease (+27%), cancer (+21%), chronic lower respiratory diseases (+41%), unintentional injury (+52%), diabetes mellitus (+56%), pneumonia and influenza (+75%), suicide (+109%), septicemia (+14%), nephritis and nephrosis (+16%), chronic liver disease (+57%), and Alzheimer's disease (+50%). Among common causes of death, only stroke (-11%) is less likely for residents of Wise County than for residents of Virginia .
The total pregnancy rate for women aged 15-44 in Wise County is 30% lower than in Virginia . The teen pregnancy rate is 15% higher in Wise County than in Virginia . Women in Wise County receive prenatal care during the first trimester at the same rate as women in Virginia overall. Babies born to residents of Wise are 10% less likely to be low birth weight. The infant mortality rate in Wise County is 3% higher than the infant mortality rate in Virginia.
 The population of Wise County is considerably
less prosperous than the population of Virginia. Wise County's poverty
rate is 108% higher than the Virginia poverty rate. The per capita income
for Wise Countians is only 59% of the per capita income for Virginians.
Proportionately fewer people in Wise County are in the work force and
a much smaller percentage of Wise Countians have graduated from high
school than Virginians in general. The relative poverty and poor health
status of the population combine to indicate the need for greater access
to primary care for the people of Wise County.
|
Population Health
|
Wise |
Virginia |
| Disabled Population, Ages 5-20 (2000) |
9.8% |
8.1% |
| Disabled Population, Ages 21-64 (2000) |
29.5% |
17.5% |
| Disabled Population, Ages 65+ (2000) |
57.3% |
42.1% |
| |
|
|
| Age Adjusted Death Rate Per 100,000 Population (1998 - 2002 avg.) - Diseases of the Heart |
277.4 |
218.0 |
| Age Adjusted Death Rate Per 100,000 Population (1998 - 2002 avg.) - Malignant Neoplasms |
230.8 |
190.0 |
| Age Adjusted Death Rate Per 100,000 Population (1998 - 2002 avg.) - Cerebrovascular Diseases |
52.1 |
58.3 |
| Age Adjusted Death Rate Per 100,000 Population (1998 - 2002 avg.) - COPD |
55.4 |
39.2 |
| Age Adjusted Death Rate Per 100,000 Population (1998 - 2002 avg.) - Unintentional Injury |
50.0 |
32.8 |
| Age Adjusted Death Rate Per 100,000 Population (1998 - 2002 avg.) - Pneumonia and Influenza |
39.8 |
22.7 |
| Age Adjusted Death Rate Per 100,000 Population (1998 - 2002 avg.) - Diabetes Mellitus |
33.8 |
21.7 |
| Age Adjusted Death Rate Per 100,000 Population (1998 - 2002 avg.) - Suicide |
23.2 |
11.1 |
| Age Adjusted Death Rate Per 100,000 Population (1998 - 2002 avg.) - Septicemia |
17.6 |
15.4 |
| Age Adjusted Death Rate Per 100,000 Population (1998 - 2002 avg.) - Nephritis and Nephrosis |
18.1 |
15.6 |
| Age Adjusted Death Rate Per 100,000 Population (1998 - 2002 avg.) - Chronic Liver Disease/Cirrhosis |
12.1 |
7.7 |
| Age Adjusted Death Rate Per 100,000 Population (1998 - 2002 avg.) - Alzheimers Disease |
7.9 |
15.9 |
| |
|
|
| Total Pregnancy Terminations (Residents) Per 1,000 Females Aged 15-44 (1998 - 2002 avg.) |
67.3 |
82.6 |
| Teenage Pregnancies Per 1,000 Females Aged 10-19 (1998 - 2002 avg.) |
35.9 |
31.3 |
| Percent of Resident Live Births Beginning Prenatal Care in 1st Trimester (1998 - 2002 avg.) |
84.7% |
84.8% |
| Low Weight Live Births as a Percent of Total Births (1998 - 2002 avg.) |
7.1% |
7.9% |
| Resident Infant Deaths Per 1,000 Lives Births (1998 - 2002 avg.) |
7.4 |
7.2 |
| |
|
|
| Economic Indicators |
|
|
| Population with Medicaid (2004) |
25.9% |
10.8% |
| Poverty Rate (2000) |
20.0% |
9.6% |
| Per Capita Income (2000) |
$14,271 |
$23,975 |
| Population Aged 16+ in Labor Force (2000) |
50.0% |
66.8% |
| Population Aged 25+ w/o High School Diploma (2000) |
37.5% |
18.5% |
| |
|
|
| Employment By Industry |
|
|
| Agriculture, Forestry, Mining, Fishing, Hunting |
10.7% |
1.3% |
| Construction |
7.3% |
7.3% |
| Manufacturing |
6.1% |
11.3% |
| Retail and Wholesale Trade |
16.9% |
14.1% |
| Transportation and Warehousing and Utilities |
5.7% |
4.6% |
| Information |
3.0% |
3.8% |
| Finance, Insurance, Real Estate, Rental and Leasing |
2.9% |
6.6% |
| Professional, Scientific, Management, Adminstrative, and Waste
Management Services |
5.0% |
11.6% |
| Education, Health, and Social Services |
23.6% |
18.3% |
| Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, Accommodation and Food Services |
6.9% |
7.2% |
| Public Administration |
6.6% |
8.3% |
| Other Services |
5.2% |
5.4% |
Links
Wise County - http://wisecounty.org/
Wise County - http://www.lenowisco.org/
Wise County - http://www.vaswpromise.com/
University of Virginia's College at Wise - http://www.wise.virginia.edu/
Mountain Empire Community College - http://www.me.cc.va.us/
Big Stone Gap (town) - http://bigstonegap.org/
Wellmont Lonesome Pine Hospital - http://www.wellmont.org/Facilities/Big_Stone_Gap/WLPH/wlph.html
Coeburn (town) - http://www.coeburnva.org/
St. Paul (town) - http://www.city-data.com/city/St.-Paul-Virginia.html
Pound (town) - http://www.city-data.com/city/Pound-Virginia.html
Wise (town) - http://www.city-data.com/city/Wise-Virginia.html
Lenowisco Health District - http://www.vdh.state.va.us/lhd/lenowisco/index.htm |