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Perry Township Sky WatchPhoto: Nicholas · CC BY 2.0
≈ BHealth Grade
Health in Perry Township · CDC PLACES 2025

Among U.S. towns with similar household incomes, Perry Township is healthier than 39%

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

Modeled estimates for adults 18+, from ZIP codes 19555, 19526. How CDC estimates town health

What stands out · In brief

What stands out about health in Perry Township

Against towns with similar incomes, Perry Township’s lead shrinks

Perry Township is healthier than 55% of U.S. towns, but 39% of the 9,360 towns with similar household incomes ($71K–$118K). Part of its edge is what towns with its incomes tend to have. Health Grade ↓

COPD runs high in Perry Township

1 in 11 adults have COPD (8.9%), vs 7.7% across Pennsylvania. Age is part of it: 27% of residents are 65 or older (Pennsylvania 20%), and COPD is more common later in life. Conditions ↓

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 Pennsylvania figure falls outside Perry Township’s likely range; Perry Township’s figures come from ZIP codes 19555, 19526, which may reach past town lines; at the ends of CDC’s ranges the grade could be anywhere from C− to A−.

Health Grade

What’s behind Perry Township’s grade

On seven CDC estimates for adults, Perry Township is healthier than 55% of U.S. towns, #551 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Obesity holds the grade up (fewer adults with obesity than 65% of U.S. towns); smoking pulls it down (better than 27%).

BSelf-rated health18.9% · PA 18.7% · U.S. 19.4%
B−Physical distress13.9% · PA 13.2% · U.S. 13%
BMental distress16.4% · PA 16.4% · U.S. 15.9%
BObesity34.1% · PA 33.8% · U.S. 32.9%
BDiabetes11.6% · PA 11.6% · U.S. 12%
CSmoking17.2% smoke · PA 15.8% · U.S. 11.8%
BExercise24.5% · PA 23.8% · U.S. 24.7%
All U.S. towns we grade (21,250)Healthier than 55%
Less healthyHealthier
Pennsylvania towns we grade (1,035)Healthier than 47%
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $71K–$118K (9,360)Healthier than 39%

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). Perry Township’s median household income is $94,531; among the 9,360 U.S. towns within 25% of that ($71K–$118K), it’s healthier than 39%, less than its income alone would suggest.

A rough placement. CDC’s likely ranges are wide here: with every estimate at one end or the other, Perry Township could be anywhere from C− to A−. The letter shows with “≈”. These are ZIP code figures (ZIP 19555,19526), weighted by land area, which can reach past town lines.

How TownRatings grades health →

Chronic conditions

Out of every 100 Perry Township adults…

Perry Township runs above PA on 3 of 12 conditions. Tap one to see it as people.

9 of every 100 Perry Township adults have COPD
Pennsylvania: 8 in 100 · worse · likely 7.9–9.9%
Better than PAWorseAbout the samePennsylvania
Why age matters here

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

Residents 65 and older

Perry Township27%
Pennsylvania20%
Getting care

Care in and near Perry Township

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

HNearest ERPenn State Health St. JosephReading · 9.4 miDirections →
★Best rated nearbyReading Hospital★★★★★ · 12.5 miDirections →
+Low-cost careBerks Community Health CenterReading · 10.2 mi · sliding-scale feesDirections →
9.4 mi
Penn State Health St. Joseph
Reading · ★★★★★
ER
10.2 mi
Berks Community Health Center
3 sites · nearest in Reading
Sliding-scale fees
Directions to nearest
10.8 mi
Surgical Institute of Reading
Wyomissing · not rated
11.5 mi
Geisinger St. Luke's Hospital
Orwigsburg · ★★★★★
12 mi
Keystone Agricultural Worker Program - Berks
Reading · community health center
Sliding-scale fees
12.5 mi
Reading Hospital
West Reading · ★★★★★
ER
✓ Primary carePerry Township is not a shortage area
✓ Dental carePerry Township is not a shortage area
✓ Mental healthPerry 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 Perry Township; ≈ marks a hospital located by its town, not its street. Shortage areas: HRSA Health Professional Shortage Areas.

Habits

Everyday habits, side by side with Pennsylvania

Share of adults, with the Pennsylvania figure marked.

Get no exercise 24.5%PA 23.8%
Sleep under 7 hours 39.9%PA 37.9%
Binge drink 18.5%PA 18.3%
Smoke cigarettes 17.2%PA 15.8%
0%10%20%30%40%
Perry Township, betterPerry Township, worseAbout the samePennsylvania
Where Perry Township gets moving

3.6 miles of trails across 1 park or preserve

Parks & trails →
Checkups & screenings

Keeping up with care

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

79%Yearly checkupPA 79%
65%Dentist visitPA 64%
86%Cholesterol checkPA 85%
66%Colon screeningPA 68%
77%MammogramPA 78%
81%Taking BP medsPA 79%
1 in 13
working-age adults has no health insurance
Perry Township 7.5% · Pennsylvania 1 in 17 (5.8%)
Mind & connection

How Perry Township adults are doing

About the same as Pennsylvania on each measure.

1 in 4Perry Township adults have been diagnosed with depression
23.7% · PA 23% · About the same as PA
1 in 6Perry 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

Perry Township and the towns around it

Perry Township’s Health Grade ranks 8th of 9 graded towns around it.

Richmond Township: 32.4%Centre Township: 33.9%Greenwich Township: 32.6%Shoemakersville: 35%Virginville: 34.2%Tilden Township: 33.5%Windsor Township: 33.4%Ontelaunee Township: 33.8%Maidencreek Township: 33.2%Fleetwood: 32.8%Ruscombmanor Township: 32.5%Walnuttown: 34.5%Maxatawny Township: 32.1%Rockland Township: 32.9%Penn Township: 33.7%Leesport: 34.1%Bern Township: 33.6%Upper Bern Township: 33.7%Albany Township: 31.8%Hamburg: 34.2%West Hamburg: 33.6%West Brunswick Township: 34.9%Port Clinton: 33.6%South Manheim Township: 36.9%Blandon: 33%Muhlenberg Township: 35.5%Perry Township: 34.1%Perry TownshipRichmond TownshipCentre TownshipGreenwich TownshipShoemakersvilleVirginvilleTilden TownshipWindsor TownshipOntelaunee TownshipMaidencreek TownshipPenn State Health St. Joseph · Reading · 9.4 mi · 3★ MedicareHSurgical Institute of Reading · Wyomissing · 10.8 miHGeisinger St. Luke's Hospital · Orwigsburg · 11.5 mi · 5★ MedicareHBerks Community Health Center at Rockland · Reading · 10.2 mi+
Healthier than PANear PALess healthyHHospital+Health center
Obesity
#19 of 27 towns on this map, healthiest first
Richmond Township32.4%
Greenwich Township32.6%
Maidencreek Township33.2%
Windsor Township33.4%
Tilden Township33.5%
Ontelaunee Township33.8%
Centre Township33.9%
Perry Township34.1%
Virginville34.2%
Shoemakersville35%
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
Perry TownshipB34.1%11.6%17.2%ZIP codes
Richmond TownshipB+32.4%10%15.5%ZIP codes
Centre TownshipB+33.9%11%16.6%ZIP codes
Greenwich TownshipB32.6%9.6%15.3%ZIP codes
Virginville————
ShoemakersvilleB−35%11%17.8%CDC place
Tilden TownshipB33.5%11.6%16.7%ZIP codes
Windsor TownshipB33.4%11.4%16.4%ZIP codes

Virginville: 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.

32.4%

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

Walking or climbing stairs15%
Thinking or memory14.5%
Hearing8.7%
Errands alone8.4%
Vision5.1%
Dressing or bathing3.6%
Pennsylvania

Every CDC estimate for Perry Township

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

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

Adults who…Perry TownshipPAU.S.vs PA
Overall health
Fair or poor health18.9%16.7–21.218.7%19.4%About the same
Frequent physical distress (physical health not good 14+ days a month)13.9%12.2–15.613.2%13%About the same
Frequent mental distress (mental health not good 14+ days a month)16.4%14.7–18.216.4%15.9%About the same
Conditions
Obesity34.1%27.3–41.533.8%32.9%About the same
Diabetes11.6%9.9–13.411.6%12%About the same
High blood pressure34.9%30.8–39.332.8%34.4%About the same
High cholesterol (adults screened in 5 years)34.8%30.5–39.333.8%37.1%About the same
Arthritis33.1%29.4–37.130.4%25.3%About the same
Asthma10.8%9.4–12.310.6%9.9%About the same
Cancer, other than skin cancer10%9.1–11.18.8%7.9%Worse
Coronary heart disease8.4%7.5–9.37.4%6.4%Worse
COPD8.9%7.9–9.97.7%6.3%Worse
Stroke3.9%3.6–4.23.7%3.4%About the same
Lost all teeth (ages 65+)13%10.3–15.814.5%12.3%About the same
Habits
Smoke cigarettes17.2%14.9–19.515.8%11.8%About the same
No exercise outside work24.5%20.6–28.823.8%24.7%About the same
Binge drinking18.5%15.2–22.218.3%15.4%About the same
Sleep under 7 hours39.9%33.3–46.937.9%36%About the same
Checkups and coverage
No health insurance (ages 18–64)7.5%6.2–8.95.8%11%Worse
Checkup in the past year79.4%75.7–82.878.8%77.4%About the same
Dentist visit in the past year64.8%61–68.564.4%63.2%About the same
Cholesterol check in 5 years86.3%83.9–88.485.3%87.1%About the same
Taking blood pressure medicine (adults with high blood pressure)80.5%77.3–83.579.2%76.5%About the same
Colorectal cancer screening (ages 45–75)66.1%60.9–71.167.5%65.5%About the same
Mammogram in 2 years (women 50–74)77.3%69.7–83.977.7%76.4%About the same
Mind and connection
Ever told they have depression23.7%20.1–27.623%20.6%About the same
Disability
Any disability32.4%28.4–36.831.3%30.1%About the same
Difficulty walking or climbing stairs15%13.3–1714.2%13.6%About the same
Difficulty concentrating or remembering14.5%12.8–16.214.1%13.9%About the same
Hearing difficulty8.7%7.7–9.87.6%6.7%Higher
Vision difficulty5.1%4.6–5.65.1%5.4%About the same
Difficulty doing errands alone8.4%7.5–9.38.2%7.9%About the same
Difficulty dressing or bathing3.6%3.3–3.93.7%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 Perry Township

Is Perry Township a healthy place to live?

On seven CDC estimates for adults, Perry Township is healthier than 55% of U.S. towns: ≈ B for health, #551 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. These are modeled estimates of who lives there, not a measure of local care or habits alone.

What is the obesity rate in Perry Township?

CDC estimates 34.1% of adults have obesity, likely between 27.3% and 41.5%, against 33.8% across Pennsylvania and 32.9% nationally.

What hospital is closest to Perry Township?

Penn State Health St. Joseph in Reading, 9.4 miles in a straight line from Perry Township’s center point, is the nearest general hospital with an emergency room; Medicare rates it 3 of 5 stars.

How many people in Perry Township have no health insurance?

CDC estimates 7.5% of adults ages 18–64 have no health insurance (likely 6.2–8.9%), 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 Perry Township 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 Perry 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.