Photo: Andrew Bossi · CC BY-SA 2.5On CDC estimates, Ashton-Sandy Spring is healthier than 95% of U.S. towns
Ashton-Sandy Spring differs from Maryland on 21 of 32 measures CDC estimates: 19 better, 2 worse.
Modeled estimates for adults 18+, CDC’s own estimate for Ashton-Sandy Spring. How CDC estimates town health
What stands out about health in Ashton-Sandy Spring
Ashton-Sandy Spring is older than Maryland, yet healthier on chronic conditions
Ashton-Sandy Spring runs below Maryland on obesity (24.4% vs 35.1%), diabetes (10.5% vs 12.5%) and COPD (5% vs 5.9%). That’s despite an older population: 28% of residents are 65 or older (Maryland 17%). Conditions ↓
Against towns with similar incomes, Ashton-Sandy Spring’s lead shrinks
Ashton-Sandy Spring is healthier than 95% of U.S. towns, but 60% of the 1,556 towns with similar household incomes ($131K–$218K). Part of its edge is what towns with its incomes tend to have. Health Grade ↓
Cancer runs high in Ashton-Sandy Spring
1 in 10 adults have had cancer (9.9%), vs 7.6% across Maryland. Age is part of it: 28% of residents are 65 or older (Maryland 17%), and cancer is more common later in life. Conditions ↓
Ashton-Sandy Spring keeps up with checkups
It beats Maryland on three of five routine checkups and screenings, including dentist visits (73.5% vs 64.4%) and cholesterol checks (92.2% vs 89.6%). Checkups ↓
Written from the CDC, Medicare and HRSA data on this page. CDC PLACES 2025 release: modeled estimates for adults, not counts; “higher” and “lower” mean the Maryland figure falls outside Ashton-Sandy Spring’s likely range.
What’s behind Ashton-Sandy Spring’s grade
On seven CDC estimates for adults, Ashton-Sandy Spring is healthier than 95% of U.S. towns, #27 of 261 in Maryland. All seven estimates beat the typical U.S. town. The strongest is smoking (fewer adults who smoke than almost every town); the weakest is diabetes, still better than 74%.
Health estimates follow income closely across the country: towns with higher household incomes usually score higher (a correlation of 0.77 across 21,157 graded towns). Ashton-Sandy Spring’s median household income is $174,063; among the 1,556 U.S. towns within 25% of that ($131K–$218K), it’s healthier than 60%, about where its income would put it.
Out of every 100 Ashton-Sandy Spring adults…
Ashton-Sandy Spring runs below MD on 5 of 12 conditions and above it on 2. Tap one to see it as people.
Ashton-Sandy Spring is an older town: 28% of residents are 65 or older, vs 17% across Maryland. Cancer rise with age, so higher rates here say as much about who lives in Ashton-Sandy Spring as about how healthy they are.
Keeping up with care
Share of Ashton-Sandy Spring adults getting routine care. The full ring is 100%; the dark tick marks Maryland.
Care in and near Ashton-Sandy Spring
No hospital or community health center in Ashton-Sandy Spring itself. These are the nearest.
Hospitals: Medicare overall star ratings, 1–5. Community health centers charge on a sliding scale by income. Distances are straight-line from the center of Ashton-Sandy Spring; ≈ marks a hospital located by its town, not its street. Shortage areas: HRSA Health Professional Shortage Areas.
Everyday habits, side by side with Maryland
Share of adults, with the Maryland figure marked.
7.5 miles of trails across 7 parks and preserves
How Ashton-Sandy Spring adults are doing
On 2 of 4 measures, Ashton-Sandy Spring does better than Maryland.
1 in 3 Ashton-Sandy Spring adults feel lonely. A hello is a start.
Groups are the easiest way in: a walking group, a book club, your street.
If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. It’s free, confidential and open 24/7.
Making ends meet
Needs that shape health as much as any doctor visit: food, housing, utilities and a way to get around.
5.4% of Ashton-Sandy Spring adults receive SNAP (food stamps), compared with 11.8% across Maryland.
Ashton-Sandy Spring and the towns around it
Ashton-Sandy Spring’s Health Grade ranks 2nd of 5 graded towns around it.
Nearby towns are shaded from CDC’s estimates for their ZIP codes, or CDC’s own figure for cities and villages.
Health next door
| Town | Health | Obesity | Diabetes | Smoking | Figures from |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashton-Sandy Spring | A | 24.4% | 10.5% | 6.6% | CDC place |
| Olney | A+ | 25% | 9.9% | 6.6% | CDC place |
| Spencerville | A | 26.5% | 11.1% | 7.8% | CDC place |
| Burtonsville | A | 27.8% | 11.3% | 7.9% | CDC place |
| Cloverly | A | 25.8% | 11.6% | 6.7% | CDC place |
Same-state neighbors only, ordered by length of shared border.
Living with a disability
Shown without a better/worse judgment.
of Ashton-Sandy Spring adults live with a disability (Maryland 26.4%). Walking or climbing stairs is the most common.
Every CDC estimate for Ashton-Sandy Spring
Share of adults, 40 measures, with CDC’s likely range.
On the 32 measures below that have a better and a worse direction, Ashton-Sandy Spring is better than Maryland on 19 and worse on 2; on the rest, the Maryland figure falls inside Ashton-Sandy Spring’s likely range, so we call them about the same. Disability and SNAP are described, not compared as better or worse.
| Adults who… | Ashton-Sandy Spring | MD | U.S. | vs MD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall health | ||||
| Fair or poor health | 14.2%12.6–16.2 | 17.9% | 19.4% | Better |
| Frequent physical distress (physical health not good 14+ days a month) | 10.7%9.5–12 | 12% | 13% | About the same |
| Frequent mental distress (mental health not good 14+ days a month) | 11.6%10.4–12.8 | 15% | 15.9% | Better |
| Conditions | ||||
| Obesity | 24.4%21.4–27.2 | 35.1% | 32.9% | Better |
| Diabetes | 10.5%9.3–11.6 | 12.5% | 12% | Better |
| High blood pressure | 34.5%32.1–36.8 | 36.8% | 34.4% | About the same |
| High cholesterol (adults screened in 5 years) | 43.8%41.2–46.4 | 38.1% | 37.1% | Worse |
| Arthritis | 24.8%22.7–26.7 | 25.8% | 25.3% | About the same |
| Asthma | 9.4%8.4–10.4 | 10.6% | 9.9% | Better |
| Cancer, other than skin cancer | 9.9%9.1–10.7 | 7.6% | 7.9% | Worse |
| Coronary heart disease | 6.1%5.4–6.9 | 5.8% | 6.4% | About the same |
| COPD | 5%4.2–5.8 | 5.9% | 6.3% | Better |
| Stroke | 3.2%2.9–3.5 | 3.4% | 3.4% | About the same |
| Lost all teeth (ages 65+) | 6.8%5.6–8.1 | 9.9% | 12.3% | Better |
| Habits | ||||
| Smoke cigarettes | 6.6%5.6–7.8 | 10.9% | 11.8% | Better |
| No exercise outside work | 17.5%15.3–19.9 | 23.6% | 24.7% | Better |
| Binge drinking | 13.2%11.6–14.9 | 14.1% | 15.4% | About the same |
| Sleep under 7 hours | 31.1%28.3–34 | 37.7% | 36% | Better |
| Checkups and coverage | ||||
| No health insurance (ages 18–64) | 6.4%5.4–7.5 | 8.7% | 11% | Better |
| Checkup in the past year | 79.2%77–81.2 | 79.2% | 77.4% | About the same |
| Dentist visit in the past year | 73.5%71.4–75.6 | 64.4% | 63.2% | Better |
| Cholesterol check in 5 years | 92.2%91.2–93.1 | 89.6% | 87.1% | Better |
| Taking blood pressure medicine (adults with high blood pressure) | 79%76.6–81 | 76.6% | 76.5% | About the same |
| Colorectal cancer screening (ages 45–75) | 73.4%70.7–76.1 | 68.2% | 65.5% | Better |
| Mammogram in 2 years (women 50–74) | 80.8%76.8–84.6 | 80.7% | 76.4% | About the same |
| Mind and connection | ||||
| Ever told they have depression | 17.7%15.8–19.7 | 19.4% | 20.6% | About the same |
| Feel lonely | 31.5%28.5–34.5 | 34.3% | 32.5% | About the same |
| Lack social and emotional support | 20.3%18.1–22.8 | 24.2% | 23.6% | Better |
| Everyday needs | ||||
| Worried about having enough food | 8.7%7.3–10.3 | 15.4% | 15% | Better |
| Worried about keeping housing | 7.6%6.5–8.8 | 13.5% | 12% | Better |
| Threatened with a utility shut-off | 4.3%3.7–5 | 8.4% | 7.6% | Better |
| Lack reliable transportation | 4.8%4.1–5.5 | 7.8% | 7.9% | Better |
| Received SNAP (food stamps) | 5.4%4.5–6.5 | 11.8% | 11.6% | Lower |
| Disability | ||||
| Any disability | 23.1%20.8–25.7 | 26.4% | 30.1% | Lower |
| Difficulty walking or climbing stairs | 10.3%8.9–11.9 | 12.4% | 13.6% | Lower |
| Difficulty concentrating or remembering | 9.5%8.4–10.8 | 12.2% | 13.9% | Lower |
| Hearing difficulty | 6.3%5.6–7.1 | 5.6% | 6.7% | About the same |
| Vision difficulty | 3.6%3.2–4 | 4.5% | 5.4% | Lower |
| Difficulty doing errands alone | 5.4%4.7–6.3 | 7% | 7.9% | Lower |
| Difficulty dressing or bathing | 2.7%2.3–3 | 3.5% | 3.8% | Lower |
Each figure is the share of adults 18+ unless the label says otherwise; small numbers after it are CDC’s likely range (95% interval). “About the same” means the Maryland figure falls inside that range.
Questions about health in Ashton-Sandy Spring
Is Ashton-Sandy Spring a healthy place to live?
On seven CDC estimates for adults, Ashton-Sandy Spring is healthier than 95% of U.S. towns: A for health, #27 of 261 in Maryland. Among U.S. towns with similar household incomes it’s healthier than 60%. These are modeled estimates of who lives there, not a measure of local care or habits alone.
What is the obesity rate in Ashton-Sandy Spring?
CDC estimates 24.4% of adults have obesity, likely between 21.4% and 27.2%, against 35.1% across Maryland and 32.9% nationally.
What hospital is closest to Ashton-Sandy Spring?
Medstar Montgomery Medical Center in Olney, 3.1 miles in a straight line from Ashton-Sandy Spring’s center point, is the nearest general hospital with an emergency room; Medicare rates it 3 of 5 stars.
How many people in Ashton-Sandy Spring have no health insurance?
CDC estimates 6.4% of adults ages 18–64 have no health insurance (likely 5.4–7.5%), against 8.7% across Maryland.
How accurate are these numbers?
They’re modeled estimates: CDC applies national survey answers to each area’s age, sex, race and education mix, so they describe who lives in Ashton-Sandy Spring more than anything measured there. At the ends of CDC’s ranges the grade could be anywhere from A to A+.
Neighbors talk health
Doctors taking patients, urgent care, staying active in Ashton-Sandy Spring.
Health estimates: CDC PLACES: Local Data for Better Health, 2025 release. The Maryland figure combines its counties, weighted by adult population. Hospitals and star ratings: Medicare Care Compare (CMS). Health centers and shortage areas: HRSA. The Health Grade is our own summary of CDC’s estimates, not an official rating. Ages: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. Town boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau. This page isn’t medical advice. In an emergency, call 911.