Breaking down the deadliest ZIP codes in Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Cancer, diabetes, heart disease and homicide -- people in certain neighborhoods in Jacksonville have a higher death rate from those than the rest of the city, according to the Florida Health Department.

The latest numbers from FHD in Duval County say a lot about Jacksonville's neighborhoods.

Stats from a report are broken down into six areas of the county called health zones.

Focusing on zone one which is downtown and the Urban Core including zip codes:
32202 - 32204 - 32206 - 32208 - 32209 - and 32254.

FHD says the death rate there is higher than any other zone in several categories.

The number that sticks out the most -- homicides.

The Urban Core is almost three times higher than north Jacksonville with an average of 11 homicides.

"Health zone one has a large violent crime issue," said Action News Jax crime and safety expert Ken Jefferson. "I'm not surprised by those numbers when you look at the social economics situation."

The urban core leads almost all of Duval County in cancer, diabetes and heart disease deaths as well.

There's an average of about 227 cancer deaths in zone one per year compared to 173 near the beaches.

Diabetes kills close to 60 people in the Urban Core per year, according to FHD. The second most deaths due to diabetes is the zone covering Riverside and the Westside with around 33 dying per year.

Experts said a key reason for the health-related deaths in the Urban Core is because it's a so-called food desert -- with few grocery stores providing nutritious foods nearby.

WJAX