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Ricketts Glen State Park Beach 2Photo: User:Ruhrfisch · CC BY-SA 4.0
B−Health Grade
Health in Fairmount Township · CDC PLACES 2025

On CDC estimates, Fairmount Township is healthier than 47% of U.S. towns

Fairmount Township trails Pennsylvania on 4 of 26 measures CDC estimates, and leads on none.

Modeled estimates for adults 18+, from ZIP codes 18656, 17814, 18655. How CDC estimates town health

What stands out

What stands out about health in Fairmount Township

Health Grade

What’s behind Fairmount Township’s grade

On seven CDC estimates for adults, Fairmount Township is healthier than 47% of U.S. towns. Mental distress holds the grade up (fewer adults with frequent mental distress than 61% of U.S. towns); smoking pulls it down (better than 23%).

BSelf-rated health18.8% · PA 18.7% · U.S. 19.4%
B−Physical distress14.4% · PA 13.2% · U.S. 13%
BMental distress16.4% · PA 16.4% · U.S. 15.9%
C+Obesity37.2% · PA 33.8% · U.S. 32.9%
B−Diabetes12% · PA 11.6% · U.S. 12%
C−Smoking17.7% smoke · PA 15.8% · U.S. 11.8%
B−Exercise25.3% · PA 23.8% · U.S. 24.7%
All U.S. towns we grade (21,250)Healthier than 47%
Less healthyHealthier
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $60K–$101K (10,731)Healthier than 45%

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). Fairmount Township’s median household income is $80,417; among the 10,731 U.S. towns within 25% of that ($60K–$101K), it’s healthier than 45%, so it sits below most towns with similar incomes, too.

A fairly firm grade. With every estimate at the unfavorable or the favorable end of CDC’s likely range, Fairmount Township could be anywhere from C− to B+. These are ZIP code figures (ZIP 18656,17814,18655), weighted by land area, which can reach past town lines.

How TownRatings grades health →

★ What stands out · Chronic conditions

Out of every 100 Fairmount Township adults…

Fairmount Township runs above PA on 4 of 12 conditions. Tap one to see it as people.

36 of every 100 Fairmount Township adults have arthritis
Pennsylvania: 30 in 100 · worse · likely 32.4–39.7%
Better than PAWorseAbout the samePennsylvania
Why age matters here

Fairmount Township is an older town: 27% of residents are 65 or older, vs 20% across Pennsylvania. Heart disease, COPD and arthritis rise with age, so higher rates here say as much about who lives in Fairmount Township as about how healthy they are.

Residents 65 and older

Fairmount Township27%
Pennsylvania20%
Getting care

Care in and near Fairmount Township

No hospital or community health center in Fairmount Township itself. These are the nearest.

HNearest ERGeisinger Wyoming Valley Medical CenterWilkes Barre · 19 miDirections →
★Best rated nearbyGeisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center★★★★★ · 19.0 miDirections →
+Low-cost careRural Health Corporation of Northeastern PennsylvaniaShickshinny · 11.2 mi · sliding-scale feesDirections →
11.2 mi
Rural Health Corporation of Northeastern Pennsylvania
3 sites · nearest in Shickshinny
Sliding-scale fees
Directions to nearest
15.1 mi
Sullivan County Laurel Health Center
Hughesville · community health center
Sliding-scale fees
≈19 mi
Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center
Wilkes Barre · ★★★★★
ER
≈20.4 mi
Wilkes-Barre General Hospital
Wilkes-Barre · ★★★★★
ER
≈20.4 mi
Wilkes Barre VA Medical Center
Wilkes-Barre · ★★★★★
ERFor veterans
21.9 mi
Geisinger-Bloomsburg Hospital
Bloomsburg · ★★★★★
ER
✓ Primary careFairmount Township is not a shortage area
✓ Dental careNo HRSA shortage area covers Fairmount Township itself
✓ Mental healthFairmount Township 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 Fairmount Township; ≈ marks a hospital located by its town, not its street. Shortage areas: HRSA Health Professional Shortage Areas (a “population” designation covers specific residents, such as those with low incomes).

Habits

Everyday habits, side by side with Pennsylvania

Share of adults, with the Pennsylvania figure marked.

Get no exercise 25.3%PA 23.8%
Sleep under 7 hours 37.8%PA 37.9%
Binge drink 17.7%PA 18.3%
Smoke cigarettes 17.7%PA 15.8%
0%10%20%30%40%
Fairmount Township, betterFairmount Township, worseAbout the samePennsylvania
Where Fairmount Township gets moving

41 miles of trails across 3 parks and preserves

Parks & trails →
Checkups & screenings

Keeping up with care

Share of Fairmount Township adults getting routine care. The full ring is 100%; the dark tick marks Pennsylvania.

80%Yearly checkupPA 79%
66%Dentist visitPA 64%
86%Cholesterol checkPA 85%
68%Colon screeningPA 68%
77%MammogramPA 78%
81%Taking BP medsPA 79%
1 in 15
working-age adults has no health insurance
Fairmount Township 6.7% · Pennsylvania 1 in 17 (5.8%)
Mind & connection

How Fairmount Township adults are doing

About the same as Pennsylvania on each measure.

1 in 4Fairmount Township adults have been diagnosed with depression
23.8% · PA 23% · About the same as PA
1 in 6Fairmount Township adults are in frequent mental distress
16.4% · PA 16.4% · About the same as PA
The one neighbors can help with

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.

Around town

Fairmount Township and the towns around it

Fairmount Township’s Health Grade ranks 2nd of 4 graded towns around it.

Benton Township: 36.5%Colley Township: 35.6%Ross Township: 37.5%Huntington Township: 37.1%Fishing Creek Township: 36%Jackson Township: 36.7%New Columbus: 36.4%Sugarloaf Township: 36.7%Laporte Township: 34.5%Davidson Township: 37.1%Cherry Township: 36%North Branch Township: 36.3%Wilmot Township: 36.1%Lake Township: 36.3%Lehman Township: 36%Union Township: 37%Salem Township: 37.7%Fairmount Township: 37.2%Fairmount TownshipBenton TownshipColley TownshipRoss TownshipHuntington TownshipShickshinny Health Center · Shickshinny · 11.2 mi+Sullivan County Laurel Health Center · Hughesville · 15.1 mi+
Healthier than PANear PALess healthyHHospital+Health center
Obesity
#16 of 18 towns on this map, healthiest first
Colley Township35.6%
Benton Township36.5%
Huntington Township37.1%
Fairmount Township37.2%
Ross Township37.5%
PA33.8%

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
Fairmount TownshipB−37.2%12%17.7%ZIP codes
Benton TownshipC+36.5%12.4%17.3%ZIP codes
Colley Township————
Ross TownshipB−37.5%11.7%18%ZIP codes
Huntington TownshipC+37.1%12.2%18.2%ZIP codes

Colley Township: 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.

33.1%

of Fairmount Township adults live with a disability (Pennsylvania 31.3%). Walking or climbing stairs is the most common.

Walking or climbing stairs15.4%
Thinking or memory14.1%
Hearing8.6%
Errands alone8.3%
Vision4.9%
Dressing or bathing3.7%
Pennsylvania

Every CDC estimate for Fairmount Township

Share of adults, 33 measures, with CDC’s likely range.

On the 26 measures below that have a better and a worse direction, Fairmount Township is better than Pennsylvania on 0 and worse on 4; on the rest, the Pennsylvania figure falls inside Fairmount Township’s likely range, so we call them about the same. Disability and SNAP are described, not compared as better or worse.

Adults who…Fairmount TownshipPAU.S.vs PA
Overall health
Fair or poor health18.8%16.9–20.918.7%19.4%About the same
Frequent physical distress (physical health not good 14+ days a month)14.4%12.8–1613.2%13%About the same
Frequent mental distress (mental health not good 14+ days a month)16.4%14.9–18.216.4%15.9%About the same
Conditions
Obesity37.2%31.1–43.933.8%32.9%About the same
Diabetes12%10.4–13.711.6%12%About the same
High blood pressure35.7%32–39.432.8%34.4%About the same
High cholesterol (adults screened in 5 years)35.6%31.5–39.633.8%37.1%About the same
Arthritis36%32.4–39.730.4%25.3%Worse
Asthma10.9%9.7–12.310.6%9.9%About the same
Cancer, other than skin cancer10.3%9.3–11.38.8%7.9%Worse
Coronary heart disease8.5%7.7–9.47.4%6.4%Worse
COPD9%8.1–107.7%6.3%Worse
Stroke3.9%3.6–4.33.7%3.4%About the same
Lost all teeth (ages 65+)14.4%11.8–17.114.5%12.3%About the same
Habits
Smoke cigarettes17.7%15.6–19.815.8%11.8%About the same
No exercise outside work25.3%21.7–29.223.8%24.7%About the same
Binge drinking17.7%14.8–2118.3%15.4%About the same
Sleep under 7 hours37.8%32.1–43.737.9%36%About the same
Checkups and coverage
No health insurance (ages 18–64)6.7%5.5–8.25.8%11%About the same
Checkup in the past year79.8%76.5–82.878.8%77.4%About the same
Dentist visit in the past year65.6%62.1–68.964.4%63.2%About the same
Cholesterol check in 5 years86.4%84.4–88.285.3%87.1%About the same
Taking blood pressure medicine (adults with high blood pressure)80.9%77.8–83.579.2%76.5%About the same
Colorectal cancer screening (ages 45–75)67.7%63–72.167.5%65.5%About the same
Mammogram in 2 years (women 50–74)77.1%70.1–83.277.7%76.4%About the same
Mind and connection
Ever told they have depression23.8%20.5–27.323%20.6%About the same
Disability
Any disability33.1%29.3–3731.3%30.1%About the same
Difficulty walking or climbing stairs15.4%13.7–17.214.2%13.6%About the same
Difficulty concentrating or remembering14.1%12.6–15.614.1%13.9%About the same
Hearing difficulty8.6%7.7–9.67.6%6.7%Higher
Vision difficulty4.9%4.5–5.35.1%5.4%About the same
Difficulty doing errands alone8.3%7.5–9.18.2%7.9%About the same
Difficulty dressing or bathing3.7%3.4–4.13.7%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 Pennsylvania figure falls inside that range.

Questions about health in Fairmount Township

Is Fairmount Township a healthy place to live?

On seven CDC estimates for adults, Fairmount Township is healthier than 47% of U.S. towns: B− for health. Among U.S. towns with similar household incomes it’s healthier than 45%. These are modeled estimates of who lives there, not a measure of local care or habits alone.

What is the obesity rate in Fairmount Township?

CDC estimates 37.2% of adults have obesity, likely between 31.1% and 43.9%, against 33.8% across Pennsylvania and 32.9% nationally.

What hospital is closest to Fairmount Township?

Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Wilkes Barre, 19.0 miles in a straight line from Fairmount Township’s center point, is the nearest general hospital with an emergency room; Medicare rates it 4 of 5 stars.

How many people in Fairmount Township have no health insurance?

CDC estimates 6.7% of adults ages 18–64 have no health insurance (likely 5.5–8.2%), against 5.8% across Pennsylvania.

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 Fairmount Township more than anything measured there. At the ends of CDC’s ranges the grade could be anywhere from C− to B+.

Neighbors talk health

Doctors taking patients, urgent care, staying active in Fairmount Township.

Town Square →
Ask your neighbors

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