County Rankings
Where America Stands on Chronic Disease, Behavioral Health, and Prevention
Forty county-level health rankings drawn from the CDC PLACES program — the most comprehensive county-level health-statistics dataset published by the federal government.
Each ranking is built from the CDC PLACES dataset, a federal program that models age-adjusted prevalence for chronic-disease, behavioral, prevention, disability, and social-driver measures down to the county level. The underlying responses come from the CDC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) — telephone interviews that the CDC pools, weights, and statistically models to produce county estimates.
These rankings are useful for comparing your county to others, spotting regional patterns, and giving local officials a defensible national benchmark. They are not useful for diagnosing individuals, projecting year-over-year trends without epidemiological context, or replacing direct disease-registry data. Confidence intervals are wider for small counties — read those rankings as broad pattern rather than precise position.
Most measures are age-adjusted to the 2000 US population. Missing or suppressed counties are excluded per measure, so every card below shows its own observed-county count. Measure vintages span 2022–2023 measure years rather than one uniform year.
The checked-in dataset contains 3,144 county records. Current finite PLACES estimates range from 2,299–3,143 counties per measure; the exact observed/total count is shown on every card.
Aggregation note
County distributions are not resident-level estimates
The displayed mean is the unweighted mean across reporting counties. Counties are equally weighted. These summaries describe county estimates, not resident prevalence, because measure-specific resident denominators are not available in the checked-in data.
Health Outcomes
Diagnosis-anchored chronic-disease prevalence. These measures count adults ever told they have the condition — they reflect both true burden and clinical access.
Arthritis
Adults with doctor-diagnosed arthritis.
2023 measure · 2,956/3,144 counties (94%)
Unweighted mean 24.6% · median 24.4% · range 15.5–35.1%
High Blood Pressure
Adults diagnosed with high blood pressure.
2023 measure · 2,956/3,144 counties (94%)
Unweighted mean 33.5% · median 32.8% · range 21–53.1%
Cancer (non-skin) or Melanoma
Adults who have ever been told they had cancer (non-skin).
2023 measure · 2,956/3,144 counties (94%)
Unweighted mean 7% · median 7.2% · range 4.2–8%
Current Asthma
Adults currently living with asthma.
2023 measure · 2,956/3,144 counties (94%)
Unweighted mean 10.7% · median 10.7% · range 7.8–15.1%
Coronary Heart Disease
Adults ever diagnosed with coronary heart disease.
2023 measure · 2,956/3,144 counties (94%)
Unweighted mean 6% · median 5.9% · range 3.8–11.4%
COPD
Adults with emphysema or chronic bronchitis.
2023 measure · 2,956/3,144 counties (94%)
Unweighted mean 7% · median 6.8% · range 3.2–15%
Depression
Adults with a depressive-disorder diagnosis.
2023 measure · 2,956/3,144 counties (94%)
Unweighted mean 24.1% · median 23.9% · range 12.3–36.2%
Diabetes
Adults diagnosed with diabetes.
2023 measure · 2,956/3,144 counties (94%)
Unweighted mean 11.2% · median 10.7% · range 6–23.8%
High Cholesterol
Adults diagnosed with high cholesterol.
2023 measure · 2,956/3,144 counties (94%)
Unweighted mean 32% · median 32.2% · range 25–37.9%
Obesity
Adults with BMI ≥ 30.
2023 measure · 2,956/3,144 counties (94%)
Unweighted mean 37.6% · median 38.2% · range 17.1–54%
Stroke
Adults who have ever had a stroke.
2023 measure · 2,956/3,144 counties (94%)
Unweighted mean 3.3% · median 3.2% · range 1.9–7.4%
All Teeth Lost (adults 65+)
Adults 65+ who have lost all their natural teeth.
2022 measure · 3,143/3,144 counties (100%)
Unweighted mean 16.1% · median 15.4% · range 3.8–44.6%
Health Risk Behaviors
Behavioral indicators self-reported in BRFSS. Leading-edge of chronic disease — today's smoking and inactivity rankings track tomorrow's COPD and diabetes maps.
Binge Drinking
Adults reporting binge drinking in the past month.
2023 measure · 2,956/3,144 counties (94%)
Unweighted mean 17.8% · median 17.6% · range 8.2–26.3%
Current Cigarette Smoking
Adults who currently smoke cigarettes.
2023 measure · 2,956/3,144 counties (94%)
Unweighted mean 16.3% · median 16.1% · range 6.5–40.3%
Physical Inactivity
Adults reporting no leisure-time physical activity.
2023 measure · 2,956/3,144 counties (94%)
Unweighted mean 27% · median 26.5% · range 12.2–48.9%
Short Sleep Duration
Adults sleeping less than seven hours a night.
2022 measure · 3,143/3,144 counties (100%)
Unweighted mean 37.3% · median 37.6% · range 24.7–51%
Health Status
Subjective self-rated measures that predict mortality and utilization independent of diagnosed disease. The closest thing to a "how things are going" indicator.
Fair or Poor General Health
Adults rating their own health as fair or poor.
2023 measure · 2,956/3,144 counties (94%)
Unweighted mean 20.7% · median 19.9% · range 10.4–41.9%
Frequent Mental Distress
Adults with 14+ days of poor mental health monthly.
2023 measure · 2,956/3,144 counties (94%)
Unweighted mean 18.6% · median 18.6% · range 12.7–26.6%
Frequent Physical Distress
Adults with 14+ days of poor physical health monthly.
2023 measure · 2,956/3,144 counties (94%)
Unweighted mean 13.8% · median 13.7% · range 8.7–23.6%
Prevention
Clinical preventive-service uptake — screening, checkups, medication adherence. The upstream gate for every chronic-disease outcome on this site.
Lack of Health Insurance (18-64)
Working-age adults without health insurance.
2023 measure · 2,956/3,144 counties (94%)
Unweighted mean 11.7% · median 10.4% · range 4–43.7%
Taking Medication for High Blood Pressure
Adults with hypertension who are taking medication.
2023 measure · 2,956/3,144 counties (94%)
Unweighted mean 58.1% · median 58.4% · range 48–69.9%
Annual Routine Checkup
Adults with a routine checkup in the past year.
2023 measure · 2,956/3,144 counties (94%)
Unweighted mean 74.9% · median 75.4% · range 60.2–84%
Cholesterol Screening
Adults with a recent cholesterol screening.
2023 measure · 2,956/3,144 counties (94%)
Unweighted mean 82.9% · median 82.9% · range 67.4–90.4%
Colorectal Cancer Screening
Adults 45-75 current with colorectal screening.
2022 measure · 3,143/3,144 counties (100%)
Unweighted mean 57.5% · median 57.7% · range 39.4–71.1%
Dental Visit in Past Year
Adults with a dental visit in the past year.
2022 measure · 3,143/3,144 counties (100%)
Unweighted mean 57.3% · median 59.1% · range 4.9–78.3%
Mammography (women 50-74)
Women 50-74 current with mammography screening.
2022 measure · 3,143/3,144 counties (100%)
Unweighted mean 73.3% · median 73.6% · range 48.5–86.6%
Disability
Functional-limitation measures from the six standard BRFSS disability questions. Most useful for community-based services and home-care planning.
Cognitive Disability
Adults with serious cognitive difficulty.
2023 measure · 2,956/3,144 counties (94%)
Unweighted mean 16.6% · median 16.3% · range 9.5–27.1%
Any Disability
Adults reporting any disability.
2023 measure · 2,956/3,144 counties (94%)
Unweighted mean 32.4% · median 31.8% · range 18.9–52.3%
Hearing Disability
Adults with serious hearing difficulty.
2023 measure · 2,956/3,144 counties (94%)
Unweighted mean 7% · median 6.9% · range 4.1–14.5%
Independent Living Disability
Adults with difficulty doing errands alone.
2023 measure · 2,956/3,144 counties (94%)
Unweighted mean 9% · median 8.7% · range 4.4–20.8%
Mobility Disability
Adults with serious difficulty walking.
2023 measure · 2,956/3,144 counties (94%)
Unweighted mean 13.7% · median 13.2% · range 7–28.8%
Self-care Disability
Adults with difficulty dressing or bathing.
2023 measure · 2,956/3,144 counties (94%)
Unweighted mean 3.9% · median 3.7% · range 1.7–10.8%
Vision Disability
Adults with serious vision difficulty.
2023 measure · 2,956/3,144 counties (94%)
Unweighted mean 5.4% · median 5% · range 2.5–17.5%
Health-Related Social Needs
Social-driver measures — food, housing, transportation, social support. Upstream of nearly every clinical outcome and a recent addition to the BRFSS core.
Lack of Social / Emotional Support
Adults lacking adequate social/emotional support.
2023 measure · 2,299/3,144 counties (73.1%)
Unweighted mean 24.3% · median 23.8% · range 16.7–37.8%
Food Insecurity
Adults reporting food insecurity.
2023 measure · 2,299/3,144 counties (73.1%)
Unweighted mean 17.3% · median 15.8% · range 5.9–46.8%
Receiving Food Stamps / SNAP
Adults receiving SNAP / food stamps.
2023 measure · 2,299/3,144 counties (73.1%)
Unweighted mean 14% · median 12.8% · range 3.6–46.6%
Housing Insecurity
Adults reporting housing insecurity.
2023 measure · 2,299/3,144 counties (73.1%)
Unweighted mean 14% · median 12.9% · range 5.9–33.6%
Transportation Barriers
Adults lacking reliable transportation.
2023 measure · 2,299/3,144 counties (73.1%)
Unweighted mean 9.4% · median 8.7% · range 4.1–26.8%
Loneliness
Adults reporting they often feel lonely.
2023 measure · 2,299/3,144 counties (73.1%)
Unweighted mean 34.2% · median 34% · range 25.7–43.8%
Utility Services Threat / Shutoff
Adults facing utility-service shutoffs.
2023 measure · 2,299/3,144 counties (73.1%)
Unweighted mean 9.7% · median 8.9% · range 3.7–27.8%
By HealthByCounty Editorial Team
Page revised
Data: CDC PLACES 2022–2023 measure years. Methodology and source documentation on the methodology page.