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 Tazwell County
Land Area: 520 square miles
Population (2000): 44,598
The Tazewell landscape includes uncounted glens scattered among hills
shaped like gumdrops and mountain ranges that look like the crests of
waves interrupted. From hidden hollows in the north to a spectacular
ringed cove in the south, Tazewell County is a place of rare and compelling
beauty.
 Major elements of the Tazewell economy are
service industries, trade, manufacturing, and transfer payments (retirement
pensions, disability income, and welfare benefits). Coal mining, tobacco
agriculture, and stock farming make important contributions to the local
economy. In 1995, the largest employers were Clinch Valley Medical Center,
the school board, Southwest Virginia Community College, Long Airdox
Company (mining machinery), and Cumberland Mountain Community Services.
There are several towns in Tazewell County, including Cedar Bluff (pop.
1,085), Claypool Hill (pop. 1,719), Pocahontas (pop. 441), Raven (pop.
2593), Richlands (pop. 4,144), Tazewell (pop. 4,206), which serves as
the seat of government, and Bluefield (pop. 5,078). Bluefield, Virginia
spills over into Bluefield, West Virginia, which has a population of
11,451.
The Crab Orchard Museum & Pioneer Park, a living history settlement
with authentic log and stone buildings, is a major attraction in Tazewell
County. Burke's Garden is a huge, unspoiled agricultural basin surrounded
by mountains on the Appalachian Trail. The Pocahontas Exhibition Coal
Mine and Coal Heritage Museum celebrates the industrial heritage of
the region.
Death rates from several common causes are higher in Tazewell County than in Virginia - e.g., heart disease (+33%), chronic lower respiratory diseases (+52%), unintentional injury (+46%), pneumonia and influenza (+34%), diabetes mellitus (+10%), suicide (+76%), chronic liver disease (+58%), septicemia (+27%), and Alzheimer's disease (+14%). The death rates from other common causes are lower in Tazewell County than in Virginia : cancer (-6%), stroke (-7%), and nephritis and nephrosis (-10%).
The total pregnancy rate among women aged 15-44 in Tazewell County is 31% lower than in Virginia . The teen pregnancy rate is 18% lower than in Virginia . Women from Tazewell County are 3% less likely than women in Virginia to start prenatal care in the first trimester. Proportionately more babies born to Tazewell County residents weigh less than 2,500 grams at birth (+29%) and proportionately more babies born to Tazewell residents die during the first year of life (+50%) than in Virginia overall.
 The population of Tazewell County is less
prosperous than the population of Virginia. The poverty rate in Tazewell
is 60% higher than the Virginia rate and the per capita income of Tazewell
Countians is only 64% of the per capita income of Virginians. The proportion
of people in Tazewell County over the age of 25 without a high school
diploma is 76% higher than in Virginia. Given the relative poverty and
poor health status of the population, it seems clear that people in
Tazewell County will benefit from increased access to primary care.
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Population Health
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Tazewell |
Virginia |
| Disabled Population, Ages 5-20 (2000) |
8.8% |
8.1% |
| Disabled Population, Ages 21-64 (2000) |
29.4% |
17.5% |
| Disabled Population, Ages 65+ (2000) |
59.0% |
42.1% |
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|
| Age Adjusted Death Rate Per 100,000 Population (1998 - 2002 avg.) - Diseases of the Heart |
290.1 |
218.0 |
| Age Adjusted Death Rate Per 100,000 Population (1998 - 2002 avg.) - Malignant Neoplasms |
178.2 |
190.0 |
| Age Adjusted Death Rate Per 100,000 Population (1998 - 2002 avg.) - Cerebrovascular Diseases |
53.9 |
58.3 |
| Age Adjusted Death Rate Per 100,000 Population (1998 - 2002 avg.) - COPD |
59.6 |
39.2 |
| Age Adjusted Death Rate Per 100,000 Population (1998 - 2002 avg.) - Unintentional Injury |
48.0 |
32.8 |
| Age Adjusted Death Rate Per 100,000 Population (1998 - 2002 avg.) - Pneumonia and Influenza |
30.5 |
22.7 |
| Age Adjusted Death Rate Per 100,000 Population (1998 - 2002 avg.) - Diabetes Mellitus |
23.9 |
21.7 |
| Age Adjusted Death Rate Per 100,000 Population (1998 - 2002 avg.) - Suicide |
19.5 |
11.1 |
| Age Adjusted Death Rate Per 100,000 Population (1998 - 2002 avg.) - Septicemia |
19.5 |
15.4 |
| Age Adjusted Death Rate Per 100,000 Population (1998 - 2002 avg.) - Nephritis and Nephrosis |
14.0 |
15.6 |
| Age Adjusted Death Rate Per 100,000 Population (1998 - 2002 avg.) - Chronic Liver Disease/Cirrhosis |
12.2 |
7.7 |
| Age Adjusted Death Rate Per 100,000 Population (1998 - 2002 avg.) - Alzheimers Disease |
18.1 |
15.9 |
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|
| Total Pregnancy Terminations (Residents) Per 1,000 Females Aged 15-44 (1998 - 2002 avg.) |
57.0 |
82.6 |
| Teenage Pregnancies Per 1,000 Females Aged 10-19 (1998 - 2002 avg.) |
25.7 |
31.3 |
| Percent of Resident Live Births Beginning Prenatal Care in 1st Trimester (1998 - 2002 avg.) |
82.0% |
84.8% |
| Low Weight Live Births as a Percent of Total Births (1998 - 2002 avg.) |
10.2% |
7.9% |
| Resident Infant Deaths Per 1,000 Lives Births (1998 - 2002 avg.) |
10.8 |
7.2 |
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| Economic Indicators |
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|
| Population with Medicaid (2004) |
22.0% |
10.8% |
| Poverty Rate (2000) |
15.3% |
9.6% |
| Per Capita Income (2000) |
$15,282 |
$23,975 |
| Population Aged 16+ in Labor Force (2000) |
53.4% |
66.8% |
| Population Aged 25+ w/o High School Diploma (2000) |
32.5% |
18.5% |
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| Employment By Industry |
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|
| Agriculture, Forestry, Mining, Fishing, Hunting |
6.8% |
1.3% |
| Construction |
7.2% |
7.3% |
| Manufacturing |
11.8% |
11.3% |
| Retail and Wholesale Trade |
19.5% |
14.1% |
| Transportation and Warehousing and Utilities |
6.7% |
4.6% |
| Information |
2.1% |
3.8% |
| Finance, Insurance, Real Estate, Rental and Leasing |
3.7% |
6.6% |
| Professional, Scientific, Management, Adminstrative, and Waste
Management Services |
4.4% |
11.6% |
| Education, Health, and Social Services |
21.8% |
18.3% |
| Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, Accommodation and Food Services |
5.6% |
7.2% |
| Public Administration |
4.8% |
8.3% |
| Other Services |
5.8% |
5.4% |
Links
Tazewell County - http://www.tazewellcounty.org/
Tazewell County - http://www.netscope.net/%7Etourtaz/
Tazewell County - http://www.vaswpromise.com/
Tazewell County - http://www.cppdc.org/index.htm
Cumberland Plateau Health District - http://www.vdh.state.va.us/LHD/cumbplat/cumbplat.htm
Tazewell Community Hospital - http://www.carilion.com/tch/tch.html
Clinch Valley Medical Center - http://www.clinchvalleymedicalcenter.com/
Southwest Virginia Community College - http://www.sw.vccs.edu/
Tazewell (town) - http://www.townoftazewell.org/
Bluefield (town) - http://www.bluefieldonline.net/
Richlands (town) - http://town.richlands.va.us/
Cedar Bluff (town) - http://www.cedarbluffva.org/
Pocahontas (town) - http://www.historicpocahontas.org/
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