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Sunset CliffPhoto: Anewt72690 · CC BY-SA 3.0
≈ B+Health Grade
Health in Blue Hill · CDC PLACES 2025

On CDC estimates, Blue Hill is healthier than 68% of U.S. towns

Blue Hill differs from Maine on 6 of 32 measures CDC estimates: 3 better, 3 worse.

Modeled estimates for adults 18+, from ZIP code 04614. How CDC estimates town health

What stands out

What stands out about health in Blue Hill

Health Grade

What’s behind Blue Hill’s grade

On seven CDC estimates for adults, Blue Hill is healthier than 68% of U.S. towns, #52 of 143 in Maine. Obesity holds the grade up (fewer adults with obesity than 86% of U.S. towns); physical distress pulls it down (better than 46%).

BSelf-rated health18.4% · ME 18.7% · U.S. 19.4%
B−Physical distress14.4% · ME 14.3% · U.S. 13%
B+Mental distress16% · ME 17.7% · U.S. 15.9%
AObesity29.3% · ME 32.7% · U.S. 32.9%
B−Diabetes12% · ME 11.2% · U.S. 12%
B+Smoking13.2% smoke · ME 14.4% · U.S. 11.8%
A−Exercise21.4% · ME 23.1% · U.S. 24.7%
All U.S. towns we grade (21,250)Healthier than 68%
Less healthyHealthier
Maine towns we grade (143)Healthier than 64%
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $60K–$100K (10,729)Healthier than 75%

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). Blue Hill’s median household income is $80,377; among the 10,729 U.S. towns within 25% of that ($60K–$100K), it’s healthier than 75%, about where its income would put it.

A rough placement. CDC’s likely ranges are wide here: with every estimate at one end or the other, Blue Hill could be anywhere from C+ to A. The letter shows with “≈”. These are ZIP code figures (ZIP 04614), weighted by land area, which can reach past town lines.

How TownRatings grades health →

★ What stands out · Chronic conditions

Out of every 100 Blue Hill adults…

Blue Hill runs above ME on 3 of 12 conditions. Tap one to see it as people.

12 of every 100 Blue Hill adults have had cancer
Maine: 10 in 100 · worse · likely 11–13.3%
Better than MEWorseAbout the sameMaine
Why age matters here

Blue Hill is an older town: 30% of residents are 65 or older, vs 22% across Maine. Arthritis and cancer rise with age, so higher rates here say as much about who lives in Blue Hill as about how healthy they are.

Residents 65 and older

Blue Hill30%
Maine22%
Getting care

Care in and near Blue Hill

1 hospital in Blue Hill, plus the nearest just outside it.

HNearest ERNorthern Light Blue Hill Memorial HospitalBlue Hill · 3 miDirections →
★Best rated nearbyNorthern Light Maine Coast Hospital★★★★★ · 11.4 miDirections →
+Low-cost careBucksport Regional Health CenterEllsworth · 12 mi · sliding-scale feesDirections →
3 mi
Northern Light Blue Hill Memorial Hospital
Blue Hill · not rated
ERRural critical accessIn Blue Hill
11.4 mi
Northern Light Maine Coast Hospital
Ellsworth · ★★★★★
ER
12 mi
Bucksport Regional Health Center
2 sites · nearest in Ellsworth
Sliding-scale fees
Directions to nearest
16.1 mi
Mount Desert Island Hospital
Bar Harbor · not rated
ERRural critical access
24.6 mi
Islands Community Medical Services
4 sites · nearest in North Haven
Sliding-scale fees
Directions to nearest
25.5 mi
Mainehealth Waldo Hospital
Belfast · ★★★★★
ERRural critical access
✓ Primary careBlue Hill is not a shortage area
✓ Dental careBlue Hill is not a shortage area
✓ Mental healthBlue Hill is not a shortage area

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 Blue Hill; ≈ marks a hospital located by its town, not its street. Shortage areas: HRSA Health Professional Shortage Areas.

Habits

Everyday habits, side by side with Maine

Share of adults, with the Maine figure marked.

Get no exercise 21.4%ME 23.1%
Sleep under 7 hours 29.6%ME 32.8%
Binge drink 14%ME 15.5%
Smoke cigarettes 13.2%ME 14.4%
0%10%20%30%40%
Blue Hill, betterBlue Hill, worseAbout the sameMaine
Checkups & screenings

Keeping up with care

Share of Blue Hill adults getting routine care. The full ring is 100%; the dark tick marks Maine.

84%Yearly checkupME 81%
64%Dentist visitME 64%
89%Cholesterol checkME 87%
71%Colon screeningME 71%
81%MammogramME 80%
80%Taking BP medsME 76%
1 in 13
working-age adults has no health insurance
Blue Hill 7.5% · Maine 1 in 13 (7.8%)
Mind & connection

How Blue Hill adults are doing

About the same as Maine on each measure.

3 in 10Blue Hill adults feel lonely
29.9% · ME 32% · About the same as ME
1 in 5Blue Hill adults lack social or emotional support
20.3% · ME 22.7% · About the same as ME
1 in 4Blue Hill adults have been diagnosed with depression
25.5% · ME 26.9% · About the same as ME
1 in 6Blue Hill adults are in frequent mental distress
16% · ME 17.7% · About the same as ME
The one neighbors can help with

3 in 10 Blue Hill adults feel lonely. A hello is a start.

Groups are the easiest way in: a walking group, a book club, your street.

Find a group →

If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. It’s free, confidential and open 24/7.

Everyday needs

Making ends meet

Needs that shape health as much as any doctor visit: food, housing, utilities and a way to get around.

1 in 10
Blue Hill adults worry about having enough food
9.8% · ME 10.7%
About the same as ME
1 in 12
Blue Hill adults worry about keeping their housing
8.5% · ME 9.8%
About the same as ME
1 in 16
Blue Hill adults were threatened with a utility shut-off
6.4% · ME 7.4%
About the same as ME
1 in 14
Blue Hill adults lack reliable transportation
6.9% · ME 7.8%
About the same as ME

12.9% of Blue Hill adults receive SNAP (food stamps), compared with 14.3% across Maine.

Around town

Blue Hill and the towns around it

Blue Hill’s Health Grade ranks 5th of 6 graded towns around it.

Surry: 30%Sedgwick: 29.4%Mount Desert: 27.4%Tremont: 28.8%Penobscot: 29.6%Brooklin: 28.5%Ellsworth: 29.1%Trenton: 29.7%Brooksville: 28.8%Deer Isle: 30.6%Bar Harbor: 28.2%Cranberry Isles: 28.8%Southwest Harbor: 28.6%Northeast Harbor: 27.8%Frenchboro: no dataCastine: 22.7%Stockton Springs: 35.3%Orland: 29.2%Swans Island: 29.3%Blue Hill: 29.3%Blue HillSurrySedgwickMount DesertTremontPenobscotBrooklinNorthern Light Blue Hill Memorial Hospital · Blue Hill · 3 miHNorthern Light Maine Coast Hospital · Ellsworth · 11.4 mi · 3★ MedicareHMount Desert Island Hospital · Bar Harbor · 16.1 miHBucksport Regional Health Center- Ellsworth Site · Ellsworth · 12 mi+North Haven PT at Southern Harbor · North Haven · 24.6 mi+
Healthier than MENear MELess healthyHHospital+Health center
Obesity
#12 of 19 towns on this map, healthiest first
Mount Desert27.4%
Brooklin28.5%
Tremont28.8%
Blue Hill29.3%
Sedgwick29.4%
Penobscot29.6%
Surry30%
ME32.7%

Nearby towns are shaded from CDC’s estimates for their ZIP codes, or CDC’s own figure for cities and villages.

Health next door

TownHealthObesityDiabetesSmokingFigures from
Blue HillB+29.3%12%13.2%ZIP 04614
SurryB+30%12.1%13.9%ZIP 04684
Mount DesertA27.4%10.7%10%ZIP codes
SedgwickB+29.4%11.3%13%ZIP codes
TremontB+28.8%11.2%13.2%ZIP codes
PenobscotB+29.6%12.5%12.7%ZIP 04476
Brooklin————

Brooklin: fewer than 1,000 residents. Same-state neighbors only, ordered by length of shared border.

Disability

Living with a disability

Shown without a better/worse judgment.

32.8%

of Blue Hill adults live with a disability (Maine 32.1%). Walking or climbing stairs is the most common.

Walking or climbing stairs15.2%
Thinking or memory14.7%
Hearing9.6%
Errands alone8.1%
Vision4.7%
Dressing or bathing3.8%
Maine

Every CDC estimate for Blue Hill

Share of adults, 40 measures, with CDC’s likely range.

On the 32 measures below that have a better and a worse direction, Blue Hill is better than Maine on 3 and worse on 3; on the rest, the Maine figure falls inside Blue Hill’s likely range, so we call them about the same. Disability and SNAP are described, not compared as better or worse.

Adults who…Blue HillMEU.S.vs ME
Overall health
Fair or poor health18.4%15.5–21.618.7%19.4%About the same
Frequent physical distress (physical health not good 14+ days a month)14.4%12.4–16.514.3%13%About the same
Frequent mental distress (mental health not good 14+ days a month)16%14.1–1817.7%15.9%About the same
Conditions
Obesity29.3%25.2–33.732.7%32.9%About the same
Diabetes12%10.4–13.911.2%12%About the same
High blood pressure37.9%34.8–41.135.7%34.4%About the same
High cholesterol (adults screened in 5 years)40.7%37.6–4437.4%37.1%Worse
Arthritis35.5%32.6–38.432%25.3%Worse
Asthma12.3%11–13.712.6%9.9%About the same
Cancer, other than skin cancer12.1%11–13.39.9%7.9%Worse
Coronary heart disease8.8%7.6–107.6%6.4%About the same
COPD9.2%7.5–118.4%6.3%About the same
Stroke4.1%3.6–4.73.6%3.4%About the same
Lost all teeth (ages 65+)16.9%13.9–20.114.8%12.3%About the same
Habits
Smoke cigarettes13.2%10.6–16.114.4%11.8%About the same
No exercise outside work21.4%17.8–25.423.1%24.7%About the same
Binge drinking14%11.9–16.315.5%15.4%About the same
Sleep under 7 hours29.6%25.6–33.832.8%36%About the same
Checkups and coverage
No health insurance (ages 18–64)7.5%5.7–9.77.8%11%About the same
Checkup in the past year84%81.5–86.281.2%77.4%Better
Dentist visit in the past year63.6%60.3–66.863.8%63.2%About the same
Cholesterol check in 5 years89.4%87.6–90.887.1%87.1%Better
Taking blood pressure medicine (adults with high blood pressure)80.4%77.7–82.876.4%76.5%Better
Colorectal cancer screening (ages 45–75)71.3%67.3–7570.5%65.5%About the same
Mammogram in 2 years (women 50–74)80.7%75.1–85.380.3%76.4%About the same
Mind and connection
Ever told they have depression25.5%22.6–28.526.9%20.6%About the same
Feel lonely29.9%26.1–33.832%32.5%About the same
Lack social and emotional support20.3%17.3–23.622.7%23.6%About the same
Everyday needs
Worried about having enough food9.8%7.7–12.410.7%15%About the same
Worried about keeping housing8.5%6.9–10.49.8%12%About the same
Threatened with a utility shut-off6.4%5.2–7.67.4%7.6%About the same
Lack reliable transportation6.9%5.7–8.37.8%7.9%About the same
Received SNAP (food stamps)12.9%10.1–16.414.3%11.6%About the same
Disability
Any disability32.8%28.6–3732.1%30.1%About the same
Difficulty walking or climbing stairs15.2%12.7–17.914%13.6%About the same
Difficulty concentrating or remembering14.7%12.5–16.915.5%13.9%About the same
Hearing difficulty9.6%8.4–10.98.4%6.7%About the same
Vision difficulty4.7%4–5.54.4%5.4%About the same
Difficulty doing errands alone8.1%6.7–9.68.1%7.9%About the same
Difficulty dressing or bathing3.8%3.2–4.53.5%3.8%About the same

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 Maine figure falls inside that range.

Questions about health in Blue Hill

Is Blue Hill a healthy place to live?

On seven CDC estimates for adults, Blue Hill is healthier than 68% of U.S. towns: ≈ B+ for health, #52 of 143 in Maine. Among U.S. towns with similar household incomes it’s healthier than 75%. These are modeled estimates of who lives there, not a measure of local care or habits alone.

What is the obesity rate in Blue Hill?

CDC estimates 29.3% of adults have obesity, likely between 25.2% and 33.7%, against 32.7% across Maine and 32.9% nationally.

What hospital is closest to Blue Hill?

Northern Light Blue Hill Memorial Hospital in Blue Hill, 3.0 miles in a straight line from Blue Hill’s center point, is the nearest general hospital with an emergency room; it has no Medicare star rating.

How many people in Blue Hill have no health insurance?

CDC estimates 7.5% of adults ages 18–64 have no health insurance (likely 5.7–9.7%), against 7.8% across Maine.

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 Blue Hill more than anything measured there. At the ends of CDC’s ranges the grade could be anywhere from C+ to A.

Neighbors talk health

Doctors taking patients, urgent care, staying active in Blue Hill.

Town Square →
Ask your neighbors

Health estimates: CDC PLACES: Local Data for Better Health, 2025 release. The Maine 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.