County health data
Kent County, DE
CDC PLACES estimates diabetes at 14.3% of adults in Kent County (Delaware: 13.3%). This county has 3 HRSA shortage designations, 1 hospital, and 3 health center sites.
License: a US government work, in the public domain (Public Domain Mark 1.0).
For help with food, housing, utilities, or rides in Kent County, call 211 or visit 211.org.
Health measures compared with the state
40 measures for adults in Kent County (about 146,800 adults). 24 have a Delaware figure from the same survey.
Largest differences from the Delaware figure: obesity 43.5% vs 35.7% (+7.8 points), no leisure-time physical activity 31.6% vs 26.0% (+5.6 points), and high cholesterol, adults ever screened 39.3% vs 43.6% (-4.3 points).
Health Outcomes
| Measure | Kent County | Delaware | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arthritis | 29.1% | 28.9% | 26.3% | 2023 |
| High blood pressure | 39.5% | 37.8% | 34.0% | 2023 |
| Cancer, excluding non-melanoma skin cancer | 8.4% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Current asthma | 12.5% | 11.0% | 10.2% | 2023 |
| Coronary heart disease | 6.6% | 4.2% | 4.0% | 2023 |
| COPD | 7.6% | 6.8% | 6.3% | 2023 |
| Depression | 22.5% | 20.1% | 21.8% | 2023 |
| Diagnosed diabetes | 14.3% | 13.3% | 11.8% | 2023 |
| High cholesterol, adults ever screened | 39.3% | 43.6% | 37.2% | 2023 |
| Obesity | 43.5% | 35.7% | 34.4% | 2023 |
| Stroke | 3.8% | 3.8% | 3.3% | 2023 |
| All teeth lost, ages 65 and older | 13.0% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
Prevention
| Measure | Kent County | Delaware | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, ages 18 to 64 | 9.5% | 8.6% | 9.3% | 2023 |
| Taking blood pressure medicine, adults with high blood pressure | 77.8% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Routine checkup in the past year | 82.3% | 81.8% | 78.4% | 2023 |
| Cholesterol screening | 86.6% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Colorectal cancer screening, ages 45 to 75 | 66.8% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
| Dental visit in the past year | 62.5% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
| Mammogram, women ages 50 to 74 | 73.6% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
Health Risk Behaviors
| Measure | Kent County | Delaware | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drinking | 12.9% | 13.6% | 15.1% | 2023 |
| Current smoking | 13.5% | 11.4% | 12.1% | 2023 |
| No leisure-time physical activity | 31.6% | 26.0% | 24.5% | 2023 |
| Short sleep | 39.9% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
Health Status
| Measure | Kent County | Delaware | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health | 21.1% | 18.6% | 18.5% | 2023 |
| Frequent mental distress | 17.7% | 14.2% | 15.4% | 2023 |
| Frequent physical distress | 14.4% | 12.3% | 12.6% | 2023 |
Disability
| Measure | Kent County | Delaware | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cognitive disability | 14.6% | 11.5% | 13.7% | 2023 |
| Any disability | 34.8% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Hearing disability | 6.7% | 5.7% | 7.4% | 2023 |
| Independent living disability | 8.8% | 7.4% | 7.8% | 2023 |
| Mobility disability | 16.5% | 15.1% | 13.4% | 2023 |
| Self-care disability | 4.0% | 3.2% | 3.7% | 2023 |
| Vision disability | 5.4% | 4.4% | 5.0% | 2023 |
Health-Related Social Needs
| Measure | Kent County | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Lack of social and emotional support | 23.0% | 2023 |
| Food insecurity in the past year | 15.9% | 2023 |
| Received food stamps in the past year | 14.3% | 2023 |
| Housing insecurity in the past year | 13.8% | 2023 |
| Lack of reliable transportation in the past year | 8.6% | 2023 |
| Loneliness | 35.0% | 2023 |
| Utility shut-off threat in the past year | 8.6% | 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 Kent County, DE 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 3 designated shortage rows in Kent County: primary care 1 (highest score 16), mental health 1 (highest score 15), and dental 1 (highest score 13). All of them cover a geographic area or population group.
| Discipline | Area or population | Facility | Highest score |
|---|---|---|---|
| primary care | 1 | 0 | 16 |
| mental health | 1 | 0 | 15 |
| dental | 1 | 0 | 13 |
Area and population designations
| Designation | Discipline | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| ME - Kent County | primary care | HPSA Population | 16 |
| ME - Kent County | mental health | HPSA Population | 15 |
| ME - Kent County | dental | HPSA Population | 13 |
In the Type column, an HPSA Population designation covers one group of people in the area. In HRSA's designation names, ME means people eligible for Medicaid.
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 Kent County. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BAYHEALTH MEDICAL CENTER, KENT CAMPUS | DOVER | 2 | 21.4% | 19.0% | 19.4% | 16.1% | 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
Health centers
3 active health center sites in Kent County, run by 1 organization.
| Site ↑ | Health center | Address | City |
|---|---|---|---|
| Westside Family Healthcare - Dover | WESTSIDE FAMILY HEALTHCARE INC | 1020 Forrest Ave, Ste 1 | Dover 19904 |
| Westside Family Healthcare - Mobile Health Unit- No.1 | WESTSIDE FAMILY HEALTHCARE INC | 120 Holly Oak Ln | Dover 19904 |
| Westside Family Healthcare - Support Services, Dover | WESTSIDE FAMILY HEALTHCARE INC | 1058 S Governors Ave, #102 | Dover 19904 |
Source: HRSA health center service delivery and look-alike sites, as of October 14, 2026. Publisher page
Delaware rural health plan
The Delaware Rural Health Transformation Plan addresses critical healthcare access and outcome disparities affecting approximately 400,000 residents in rural Sussex and Kent Counties.
Goals, as the state's abstract names them (page 14):
- Expand Access
- Strengthen Workforce
- Drive Innovation
- Improve Outcomes
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 Kent County, DE
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 accesshospitals 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