County health data
Bay County, FL
CDC PLACES estimates diabetes at 11.9% of adults in Bay County (Florida: 12.5%). This county has 8 HRSA shortage designations (2 area or population, 6 facility), 2 hospitals, and 14 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 Bay County, call 211 or visit 211.org.
Health measures compared with the state
33 measures for adults in Bay County (about 150,387 adults). 24 have a Florida figure from the same survey.
Largest differences from the Florida figure: depression 20.8% vs 16.3% (+4.5 points), current smoking 14.6% vs 10.5% (+4.1 points), and obesity 33.4% vs 30.1% (+3.3 points).
Health Outcomes
| Measure | Bay County | Florida | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arthritis | 28.7% | 26.3% | 26.3% | 2023 |
| High blood pressure | 37.7% | 35.9% | 34.0% | 2023 |
| Cancer, excluding non-melanoma skin cancer | 9.1% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Current asthma | 10.0% | 8.5% | 10.2% | 2023 |
| Coronary heart disease | 7.3% | 5.1% | 4.0% | 2023 |
| COPD | 7.9% | 6.8% | 6.3% | 2023 |
| Depression | 20.8% | 16.3% | 21.8% | 2023 |
| Diagnosed diabetes | 11.9% | 12.5% | 11.8% | 2023 |
| High cholesterol, adults ever screened | 39.5% | 39.3% | 37.2% | 2023 |
| Obesity | 33.4% | 30.1% | 34.4% | 2023 |
| Stroke | 3.7% | 3.6% | 3.3% | 2023 |
| All teeth lost, ages 65 and older | 10.0% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
Prevention
| Measure | Bay County | Florida | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, ages 18 to 64 | 12.5% | 15.4% | 9.3% | 2023 |
| Taking blood pressure medicine, adults with high blood pressure | 76.6% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Routine checkup in the past year | 76.3% | 78.9% | 78.4% | 2023 |
| Cholesterol screening | 85.5% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Colorectal cancer screening, ages 45 to 75 | 65.4% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
| Dental visit in the past year | 59.2% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
| Mammogram, women ages 50 to 74 | 74.3% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
Health Risk Behaviors
| Measure | Bay County | Florida | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drinking | 16.6% | 14.3% | 15.1% | 2023 |
| Current smoking | 14.6% | 10.5% | 12.1% | 2023 |
| No leisure-time physical activity | 25.3% | 25.4% | 24.5% | 2023 |
| Short sleep | 38.9% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
Health Status
| Measure | Bay County | Florida | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health | 19.8% | 19.1% | 18.5% | 2023 |
| Frequent mental distress | 17.7% | 15.0% | 15.4% | 2023 |
| Frequent physical distress | 14.8% | 13.7% | 12.6% | 2023 |
Disability
| Measure | Bay County | Florida | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cognitive disability | 14.6% | 12.3% | 13.7% | 2023 |
| Any disability | 32.1% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Hearing disability | 7.4% | 7.5% | 7.4% | 2023 |
| Independent living disability | 8.4% | 7.8% | 7.8% | 2023 |
| Mobility disability | 14.7% | 14.5% | 13.4% | 2023 |
| Self-care disability | 3.9% | 3.8% | 3.7% | 2023 |
| Vision disability | 5.3% | 7.3% | 5.0% | 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
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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 8 designated shortage rows in Bay County: primary care 3 (highest score 13), mental health 3 (highest score 24), and dental 2 (highest score 26). 2 cover a geographic area or population group; the other 6 are facility designations.
| Discipline | Area or population | Facility | Highest score |
|---|---|---|---|
| primary care | 1 | 2 | 13 |
| mental health | 1 | 2 | 24 |
| dental | 0 | 2 | 26 |
Area and population designations
| Designation | Discipline | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| MHCA-Big Bend Comm Based Care-Circuit 14 | mental health | High Needs Geographic HPSA | 15 |
| LI - Bay County | primary care | HPSA Population | 8 |
Facility designations (6)
| Designation | Discipline | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| PANCARE OF FLORIDA, INC. | dental | Federally Qualified Health Center | 26 |
| PANCARE OF FLORIDA, INC. | mental health | Federally Qualified Health Center | 24 |
| CF-Bay Correctional Facility | mental health | Correctional Facility | 21 |
| PANCARE OF FLORIDA, INC. | primary care | Federally Qualified Health Center | 13 |
| CF - Bay Correctional Facility | primary care | Correctional Facility | 12 |
| CF - Bay Correctional Facility | dental | Correctional Facility | 12 |
In the Type column, a High Needs Geographic HPSA is a geographic designation that also meets HRSA's added tests for high need; and an HPSA Population designation covers one group of people in the area. In HRSA's designation names, LI means low-income residents, and MHCA means mental health catchment area.
Source: HRSA Health Professional Shortage Areas, as of October 14, 2026. Publisher page
Hospitals and readmission rates
CMS Care Compare lists 2 acute care or critical access hospitals in Bay 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASCENSION SACRED HEART BAY | PANAMA CITY | 3 | 22.4% | 18.2% | 20.4% | 14.3% | n/a |
| HCA FLORIDA GULF COAST HOSPITAL | PANAMA CITY | 2 | 20.7% | 17.6% | 19.4% | 14.9% | 5.5% |
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
14 active health center sites in Bay County, run by 1 organization.
| Site ↑ | Health center | Address | City |
|---|---|---|---|
| PanCare Dental - Panama City | PANCARE OF FLORIDA, INC. | 403 E 11th St | Panama City 32401 |
| PanCare Health - Panama City | PANCARE OF FLORIDA, INC. | 2235 E 15th St | Panama City 32405 |
| PanCare Health - Panama City | PANCARE OF FLORIDA, INC. | 2309 E 15th St | Panama City 32405 |
| PanCare Health Dental Mobile Unit | PANCARE OF FLORIDA, INC. | 403 E 11th St | Panama City 32401 |
| PanCare Health Gulf Coast | PANCARE OF FLORIDA, INC. | 5230 W Highway 98 | Panama City 32401 |
| PanCare Health Mobile Unit #1 | PANCARE OF FLORIDA, INC. | 2309 E 15th St | Panama City 32405 |
| PanCare Health Mobile Unit #5 | PANCARE OF FLORIDA, INC. | 2309 E 15th St | Panama City 32405 |
| PanCare Health Mobile Unit #6 | PANCARE OF FLORIDA, INC. | 2309 E 15th St | Panama City 32405 |
| PanCare Health Mobile Unit #7 | PANCARE OF FLORIDA, INC. | 2309 E 15th St | Panama City 32405 |
| PanCare Health Mobile Unit #8 | PANCARE OF FLORIDA, INC. | 2309 E 15th St | Panama City 32405 |
| PanCare Health Mobile Unit #9 | PANCARE OF FLORIDA, INC. | 2309 E 15th St | Panama City 32405 |
| PanCare Health Mobile Unit #11 | PANCARE OF FLORIDA, INC. | 2309 E 15th St | Panama City 32405 |
| PanCare Panama City | PANCARE OF FLORIDA, INC. | 2235 E 15th St | Panama City 32405 |
| PanCare Youngstown | PANCARE OF FLORIDA, INC. | 12427 Highway 231 | Youngstown 32466 |
Source: HRSA health center service delivery and look-alike sites, as of October 14, 2026. Publisher page
Florida rural health plan
The Florida Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) modernizes, stabilizes, and sustains rural health systems across 31 counties, serving approximately 1.2 million Floridians.
Initiatives, as the state's abstract names them (page 15):
- Health and Lifestyle
- Clinical Training Investment Opportunity (CTIO)
- Integrated Medicare-Medicaid Plans Education and Outreach
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 Bay County, FL
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