County health data
Howard County, AR
CDC PLACES estimates diabetes at 15.2% of adults in Howard County (Arkansas: 14.5%). This county has 5 HRSA shortage designations (2 area or population, 3 facility) and 1 hospital.
License: a US government work, in the public domain (Public Domain Mark 1.0).
For help with food, housing, utilities, or rides in Howard County, call 211 or visit 211.org.
Health measures compared with the state
40 measures for adults in Howard County (about 9,311 adults). 24 have an Arkansas figure from the same survey.
Largest differences from the Arkansas figure: no leisure-time physical activity 36.0% vs 32.5% (+3.5 points), coronary heart disease 8.6% vs 6.1% (+2.5 points), and current smoking 17.1% vs 15.0% (+2.1 points).
Health Outcomes
| Measure | Howard County | Arkansas | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arthritis | 31.2% | 30.3% | 26.3% | 2023 |
| High blood pressure | 44.3% | 42.5% | 34.0% | 2023 |
| Cancer, excluding non-melanoma skin cancer | 8.4% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Current asthma | 10.6% | 9.9% | 10.2% | 2023 |
| Coronary heart disease | 8.6% | 6.1% | 4.0% | 2023 |
| COPD | 9.5% | 9.0% | 6.3% | 2023 |
| Depression | 24.3% | 24.2% | 21.8% | 2023 |
| Diagnosed diabetes | 15.2% | 14.5% | 11.8% | 2023 |
| High cholesterol, adults ever screened | 39.3% | 40.2% | 37.2% | 2023 |
| Obesity | 39.4% | 40.0% | 34.4% | 2023 |
| Stroke | 4.6% | 5.0% | 3.3% | 2023 |
| All teeth lost, ages 65 and older | 22.8% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
Prevention
| Measure | Howard County | Arkansas | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, ages 18 to 64 | 12.5% | 13.9% | 9.3% | 2023 |
| Taking blood pressure medicine, adults with high blood pressure | 79.4% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Routine checkup in the past year | 79.7% | 79.1% | 78.4% | 2023 |
| Cholesterol screening | 85.2% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Colorectal cancer screening, ages 45 to 75 | 63.0% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
| Dental visit in the past year | 54.8% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
| Mammogram, women ages 50 to 74 | 71.8% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
Health Risk Behaviors
| Measure | Howard County | Arkansas | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drinking | 13.6% | 13.5% | 15.1% | 2023 |
| Current smoking | 17.1% | 15.0% | 12.1% | 2023 |
| No leisure-time physical activity | 36.0% | 32.5% | 24.5% | 2023 |
| Short sleep | 40.4% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
Health Status
| Measure | Howard County | Arkansas | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health | 27.0% | 25.9% | 18.5% | 2023 |
| Frequent mental distress | 18.9% | 18.9% | 15.4% | 2023 |
| Frequent physical distress | 16.8% | 16.1% | 12.6% | 2023 |
Disability
| Measure | Howard County | Arkansas | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cognitive disability | 19.0% | 19.5% | 13.7% | 2023 |
| Any disability | 41.7% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Hearing disability | 9.2% | 10.2% | 7.4% | 2023 |
| Independent living disability | 10.8% | 11.2% | 7.8% | 2023 |
| Mobility disability | 20.2% | 19.0% | 13.4% | 2023 |
| Self-care disability | 5.2% | 5.0% | 3.7% | 2023 |
| Vision disability | 7.0% | 7.8% | 5.0% | 2023 |
Health-Related Social Needs
| Measure | Howard County | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Lack of social and emotional support | 29.0% | 2023 |
| Food insecurity in the past year | 21.0% | 2023 |
| Received food stamps in the past year | 13.5% | 2023 |
| Housing insecurity in the past year | 16.1% | 2023 |
| Lack of reliable transportation in the past year | 10.6% | 2023 |
| Loneliness | 36.3% | 2023 |
| Utility shut-off threat in the past year | 11.6% | 2023 |
Source: CDC PLACES county data, as of December 4, 2025. Publisher page
Source: CDC BRFSS prevalence data, as of September 15, 2026. Publisher page
For health centers, health departments, and nonprofits
Our community need, ready for a grant
Rivvi opens with Howard County, AR filled in and writes one cited paragraph and a table: shortage scores, disease rates, and nearby hospitals for this county. Add the other counties you serve.
Write the need statementFree to start. Opens Rivvi, the AI workspace for healthcare teams.
Health professional shortage areas
HRSA, the federal Health Resources and Services Administration, designates Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs): places, population groups, or facilities with too few primary care, mental health, or dental providers. An area designation covers a geographic area or a population group, such as low-income residents. A facility designation covers one site, such as a health center or clinic. Each has a score from 0 to 25 (0 to 26 for dental); a higher score means greater need.
HRSA lists 5 designated shortage rows in Howard County: primary care 2 (highest score 13), mental health 1 (highest score 18), and dental 2 (highest score 17). 2 cover a geographic area or population group; the other 3 are facility designations.
| Discipline | Area or population | Facility | Highest score |
|---|---|---|---|
| primary care | 1 | 1 | 13 |
| mental health | 0 | 1 | 18 |
| dental | 1 | 1 | 17 |
Area and population designations
| Designation | Discipline | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| LI - Howard County | dental | HPSA Population | 13 |
| LI - Howard County | primary care | HPSA Population | 12 |
Facility designations (3)
| Designation | Discipline | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACCESS MEDICAL CLINIC ARKANSAS LLC | mental health | Rural Health Clinic | 18 |
| ACCESS MEDICAL CLINIC ARKANSAS LLC | dental | Rural Health Clinic | 17 |
| ACCESS MEDICAL CLINIC ARKANSAS LLC | primary care | Rural Health Clinic | 13 |
Source: HRSA Health Professional Shortage Areas, as of October 14, 2026. Publisher page
Hospitals and readmission rates
CMS Care Compare lists 1 acute care or critical access hospital in Howard County, 1 of them critical access. The CMS file in this snapshot does not compare these rates with the national rate, so none is marked better or worse.
| Hospital | City | Stars | Heart failure | Pneumonia | COPD | Heart attack | Hip or knee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOWARD MEMORIAL HOSPITALCritical access | NASHVILLE | 3 | n/a | 17.8% | 20.1% | n/a | n/a |
Each rate is the share of patients readmitted within 30 days of discharge, July 2023 to June 2025. "n/a" means CMS did not publish a rate for that hospital.
Source: CMS Care Compare hospital general information, as of August 13, 2026. Publisher page
Source: CMS Care Compare unplanned hospital visits, as of September 30, 2026. Publisher page
Arkansas rural health plan
The Arkansas RHT Program expands access, strengthens care, grows the healthcare workforce, and advances telehealth to improve health outcomes and service quality for rural residents and communities statewide
Initiatives, as the state's abstract names them (page 7):
- Healthy Eating, Active Recreation, and Transformation (HEART)
- Promoting Access Coordination and Transformation (PACT)
- Recruitment Innovation Skills and Education for Arkansas (RISE AR)
- Telehealth Health-monitoring and Response Innovation for Vital Expansion (THRIVE)
CMS says the abstract budgets are illustrative and are not award amounts, so none are shown.
Source: CMS Rural Health Transformation Program state project abstracts, as of December 2025. Publisher page
Neighboring counties
Medicare plans in Howard County, AR
About this data
County rates are CDC PLACES model-based estimates of adults, built from the CDC BRFSS survey and Census population data. State and US figures are BRFSS survey results for the same year. They are not averages of counties, and small differences may not be meaningful.
Shortage rows are HRSA designations with status Designated. Scores run from 0 to 25 (0 to 26 for dental); a higher score means greater need. Hospitals are acute care and critical access hospitals CMS lists in the county, with 30-day rates of unplanned readmission. Health centers are active HRSA-funded and look-alike sites.
Rural health plan initiatives are copied as the state wrote them. Nothing here is medical advice.
Source: CDC PLACES county data, as of December 4, 2025. Publisher page
Source: CDC BRFSS prevalence data, as of September 15, 2026. Publisher page
Source: HRSA Health Professional Shortage Areas, as of October 14, 2026. Publisher page