County health data
Walton County, FL
CDC PLACES estimates diabetes at 12.3% of adults in Walton County (Florida: 12.5%). This county has 6 HRSA shortage designations (3 area or population, 3 facility), 2 hospitals, and 8 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 Walton County, call 211 or visit 211.org.
Health measures compared with the state
33 measures for adults in Walton County (about 68,437 adults). 24 have a Florida figure from the same survey.
Largest differences from the Florida figure: no health insurance, ages 18 to 64 11.4% vs 15.4% (-4.0 points), no leisure-time physical activity 22.0% vs 25.4% (-3.4 points), and current smoking 13.8% vs 10.5% (+3.3 points).
Health Outcomes
| Measure | Walton County | Florida | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arthritis | 29.0% | 26.3% | 26.3% | 2023 |
| High blood pressure | 36.3% | 35.9% | 34.0% | 2023 |
| Cancer, excluding non-melanoma skin cancer | 10.3% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Current asthma | 9.5% | 8.5% | 10.2% | 2023 |
| Coronary heart disease | 7.4% | 5.1% | 4.0% | 2023 |
| COPD | 7.7% | 6.8% | 6.3% | 2023 |
| Depression | 18.7% | 16.3% | 21.8% | 2023 |
| Diagnosed diabetes | 12.3% | 12.5% | 11.8% | 2023 |
| High cholesterol, adults ever screened | 40.1% | 39.3% | 37.2% | 2023 |
| Obesity | 30.1% | 30.1% | 34.4% | 2023 |
| Stroke | 3.6% | 3.6% | 3.3% | 2023 |
| All teeth lost, ages 65 and older | 13.0% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
Prevention
| Measure | Walton County | Florida | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, ages 18 to 64 | 11.4% | 15.4% | 9.3% | 2023 |
| Taking blood pressure medicine, adults with high blood pressure | 79.1% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Routine checkup in the past year | 77.1% | 78.9% | 78.4% | 2023 |
| Cholesterol screening | 87.3% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Colorectal cancer screening, ages 45 to 75 | 67.4% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
| Dental visit in the past year | 60.6% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
| Mammogram, women ages 50 to 74 | 74.3% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
Health Risk Behaviors
| Measure | Walton County | Florida | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drinking | 15.9% | 14.3% | 15.1% | 2023 |
| Current smoking | 13.8% | 10.5% | 12.1% | 2023 |
| No leisure-time physical activity | 22.0% | 25.4% | 24.5% | 2023 |
| Short sleep | 35.2% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
Health Status
| Measure | Walton County | Florida | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health | 18.5% | 19.1% | 18.5% | 2023 |
| Frequent mental distress | 16.4% | 15.0% | 15.4% | 2023 |
| Frequent physical distress | 13.9% | 13.7% | 12.6% | 2023 |
Disability
| Measure | Walton County | Florida | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cognitive disability | 13.4% | 12.3% | 13.7% | 2023 |
| Any disability | 31.2% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Hearing disability | 7.6% | 7.5% | 7.4% | 2023 |
| Independent living disability | 7.6% | 7.8% | 7.8% | 2023 |
| Mobility disability | 14.3% | 14.5% | 13.4% | 2023 |
| Self-care disability | 3.6% | 3.8% | 3.7% | 2023 |
| Vision disability | 4.8% | 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 6 designated shortage rows in Walton County: primary care 2 (highest score 17), mental health 2 (highest score 21), and dental 2 (highest score 16). 3 cover a geographic area or population group; the other 3 are facility designations.
| Discipline | Area or population | Facility | Highest score |
|---|---|---|---|
| primary care | 1 | 1 | 17 |
| mental health | 1 | 1 | 21 |
| dental | 1 | 1 | 16 |
Area and population designations
| Designation | Discipline | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| LI - DeFuniak/Freeport | primary care | HPSA Population | 17 |
| Walton County | mental health | High Needs Geographic HPSA | 16 |
| LI - Freeport/DeFuniak Springs/Paxton | dental | HPSA Population | 16 |
Facility designations (3)
| Designation | Discipline | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| CF-Walton Correctional Institution/Work Camp | mental health | Correctional Facility | 21 |
| CF-Walton Correctional Institution/Work Camp | primary care | Correctional Facility | 12 |
| CF-Walton Correctional Institution/Work Camp | dental | Correctional Facility | 3 |
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.
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 Walton 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NORTH WALTON DOCTORS HOSPITAL | DEFUNIAK SPRINGS | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| SACRED HEART HOSPITAL ON THE EMERALD COAST | MIRAMAR BEACH | 3 | 20.0% | 18.5% | 19.7% | 14.5% | 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
8 active health center sites in Walton County, run by 2 organizations.
| Site ↑ | Health center | Address | City |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida Department of Health in Walton County | FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH | 362 State Hwy 83 N | Defuniak Springs 32433 |
| Florida Department of Health in Walton County - Coastal Branch | FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH | 361 Greenway Trl | Santa Rosa Beach 32459 |
| Florida Department of Health in Walton County - Paxton Branch | FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH | 21505 US Highway 331 N | Laurel Hill 32567 |
| Freeport Clinic | PANCARE OF FLORIDA, INC. | 479 State Highway 20 E | Freeport 32439 |
| Maude Saunders Elementary School | FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH | 416 John Baldwin Rd | Defuniak Springs 32433 |
| PanCare Health Mobile Medical/Dental Unit #2 | PANCARE OF FLORIDA, INC. | 479 State Highway 20 E | Freeport 32439 |
| PanCare Health Mobile Unit #10 | PANCARE OF FLORIDA, INC. | 479 State Highway 20 E | Freeport 32439 |
| West DeFuniak Elementary School | FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH | 815 | Defuniak Springs 32435 |
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 Walton 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