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<br /> <br /> <br />Large Disparities Exist Even in State’s <br />Healthiest County <br /> <br />By Jess Clark <br />SHARE THIS: <br />Posted June 10, 2015 at 9:45 am <br />Photo Credit: Family Success Alliance <br />Orange County children may be the healthiest in North Carolina, according to child-advocacy <br />nonprofit NC Child. But a closer look at Orange County shows that the block you grow up on may matter <br />more than your county. <br />Orange County is the wealthiest and most educated county in the state, and overall its children are the <br />healthiest. Orange County Health Director Colleen Bridger says that’s not a coincidence. <br />“The more highly educated you are, the more likely you are to have a professional job that provides you <br />with health insurance, time off to go to the doctor, time off to take your kids to the doctor and a living <br />wage,” Bridger said. <br />But Orange County’s wealth and college degrees aren’t divided equally among all its residents. Census <br />estimates show wide socioeconomic gaps between adjacent blocks. <br />“Even though Orange County in the aggregate is doing well, there are pockets of poverty and places <br />where people are struggling that rivals any other place in the state,” Bridger warned. <br />Bridger says the greatest health disparities within Orange County often come down to disparities in <br />education. There are areas in the county where two-thirds of third-graders are reading below grade level.