The 100 Healthiest Zip-Codes in Pennsylvania

by Paul Ricci

We received a large response to the post on the 100 least healthy zip codes in Pennsylvania. This time I thought that I would take a look at the other side of the coin. The data comes from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The 100 healthiest zip-codes in Pennsylvania as defined as the 100 zip codes with lowest unmet need scores (UNS) in Pennsylvania. A higher UNS means less healthy. Each of the 100 healthy zip codes are shown in the table at the bottom of the post.

Thirty four of the 100 zip-codes on this list were in the Alleghenies. This is lower than the 44 Allegheny zip-codes on the 100 least healthy list. Montgomery County had the most zip codes with 9 followed by Chester and Wayne with 6, Lancaster and Washington with 5, and Susquehanna and Westmoreland with 4 each. The cities of Chester and Philadelphiahad the most zip codes with 2 each.

Looking at the all cause mortality rate for the Alleghenies we see elevated rates for there relative to the rest of Pennsylvania. The median mortality rate is 816.5 deaths/100,000 for the supposedly healthy zip-codes. The rate was 726 deaths/100,000 outside the Alleghenies. This is a similar pattern to what was in the 100 least healthy zip-codes. There was no difference in the unmet need score for the Alleghenies versus the rest of the state. Some zip codes have missing mortality data.

It does indicate that even among the supposedly healthiest zip codes in the state there is a higher mortality rate even among the Alleghenies. Next I will look at the other health variables.

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