Frederick Among Healthiest Counties in Maryland

In the 2022 County Health Rankings published by the University of Wisconsin’s Population Health Institute and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Frederick County ranks third healthiest among all Maryland counties.seal of Frederick County Maryland

The rankings are intended to bring “actionable data, evidence, guidance, and stories to diverse leaders and residents so people and communities can be healthier.” Health metric categories comprising the rankings include length of life, quality of life, health behaviors, clinical care, social & economic factors, and physical environment.

Frederick County’s Health Officer, Dr. Barbara Brookmyer explained the criteria leading to Frederick’s impressive ranking in a press release:
“We know that that Frederick County’s high rankings are due to a variety of factors from all parts of our community,” stated Dr. Brookmyer. “Good health is based on social and economic factors, as well as our physical environment and the choices we have and make. We will continue to work with our community to identify and remove barriers so that all our residents can have the best health outcome possible,” she added.

Frederick excelled in certain specific metrics regarding health behavior, including low physical inactivity, access to exercise opportunities, and low teen births. Moreover, with respect to clinical care strengths, the county maintains a low percentage of uninsured residents, good ratio of primary care physicians, low preventable hospital stays, good flu vaccination rates.

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The 2022 rankings shows that Frederick County is consistently ranked among the healthiest counties in Maryland, in the highest 75%-100%.
Among Maryland counties, only Howard and Montgomery ranked higher overall. Based on the rankings, Frederick County Health Department officials have identified several key areas for improvement including adult smoking and obesity. The County offers free tobacco counseling cessation services to help residents, as well as as the PreventT2 Program to work with individuals who have prediabetes, which is often tied to obesity.

Read the full Frederick County press release.
See where your county ranks.