County health data
Hancock County, MS
CDC PLACES estimates diabetes at 14.3% of adults in Hancock County (Mississippi: 17.0%). This county has 3 HRSA shortage designations, 1 hospital, and 10 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 Hancock County, call 211 or visit 211.org.
Health measures compared with the state
40 measures for adults in Hancock County (about 37,467 adults). 24 have a Mississippi figure from the same survey.
Largest differences from the Mississippi figure: no health insurance, ages 18 to 64 9.7% vs 13.6% (-3.9 points), coronary heart disease 8.2% vs 5.0% (+3.2 points), and fair or poor health 21.5% vs 24.4% (-2.9 points).
Health Outcomes
| Measure | Hancock County | Mississippi | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arthritis | 33.0% | 31.2% | 26.3% | 2023 |
| High blood pressure | 43.3% | 46.0% | 34.0% | 2023 |
| Cancer, excluding non-melanoma skin cancer | 10.0% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Current asthma | 9.2% | 7.1% | 10.2% | 2023 |
| Coronary heart disease | 8.2% | 5.0% | 4.0% | 2023 |
| COPD | 8.8% | 7.6% | 6.3% | 2023 |
| Depression | 19.7% | 18.1% | 21.8% | 2023 |
| Diagnosed diabetes | 14.3% | 17.0% | 11.8% | 2023 |
| High cholesterol, adults ever screened | 42.3% | 39.8% | 37.2% | 2023 |
| Obesity | 37.3% | 40.1% | 34.4% | 2023 |
| Stroke | 4.3% | 5.3% | 3.3% | 2023 |
| All teeth lost, ages 65 and older | 11.8% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
Prevention
| Measure | Hancock County | Mississippi | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, ages 18 to 64 | 9.7% | 13.6% | 9.3% | 2023 |
| Taking blood pressure medicine, adults with high blood pressure | 81.9% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Routine checkup in the past year | 81.1% | 82.3% | 78.4% | 2023 |
| Cholesterol screening | 88.0% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Colorectal cancer screening, ages 45 to 75 | 64.4% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
| Dental visit in the past year | 9.4% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
| Mammogram, women ages 50 to 74 | 73.5% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
Health Risk Behaviors
| Measure | Hancock County | Mississippi | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drinking | 14.3% | 13.1% | 15.1% | 2023 |
| Current smoking | 15.7% | 15.6% | 12.1% | 2023 |
| No leisure-time physical activity | 31.2% | 33.4% | 24.5% | 2023 |
| Short sleep | 34.6% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
Health Status
| Measure | Hancock County | Mississippi | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health | 21.5% | 24.4% | 18.5% | 2023 |
| Frequent mental distress | 16.0% | 15.4% | 15.4% | 2023 |
| Frequent physical distress | 14.8% | 14.3% | 12.6% | 2023 |
Disability
| Measure | Hancock County | Mississippi | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cognitive disability | 15.5% | 17.0% | 13.7% | 2023 |
| Any disability | 37.0% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Hearing disability | 9.7% | 9.3% | 7.4% | 2023 |
| Independent living disability | 8.9% | 9.8% | 7.8% | 2023 |
| Mobility disability | 17.9% | 20.2% | 13.4% | 2023 |
| Self-care disability | 4.4% | 5.2% | 3.7% | 2023 |
| Vision disability | 5.7% | 7.6% | 5.0% | 2023 |
Health-Related Social Needs
| Measure | Hancock County | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Lack of social and emotional support | 24.3% | 2023 |
| Food insecurity in the past year | 14.6% | 2023 |
| Received food stamps in the past year | 7.7% | 2023 |
| Housing insecurity in the past year | 11.2% | 2023 |
| Lack of reliable transportation in the past year | 8.1% | 2023 |
| Loneliness | 31.8% | 2023 |
| Utility shut-off threat in the past year | 7.0% | 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 3 designated shortage rows in Hancock County: primary care 1 (highest score 18), mental health 1 (highest score 13), and dental 1 (highest score 18). All of them cover a geographic area or population group.
| Discipline | Area or population | Facility | Highest score |
|---|---|---|---|
| primary care | 1 | 0 | 18 |
| mental health | 1 | 0 | 13 |
| dental | 1 | 0 | 18 |
Area and population designations
| Designation | Discipline | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| LI - Hancock & Pearl River Counties | primary care | HPSA Population | 18 |
| LI-Hancock & Pearl River Counties | dental | HPSA Population | 18 |
| Mental Health Catchment Area 12 | mental health | High Needs Geographic HPSA | 13 |
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 1 acute care or critical access hospital in Hancock 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OCHSNER MEDICAL CENTER-HANCOCK | BAY SAINT LOUIS | 3 | 21.0% | 18.0% | 19.7% | 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
Health centers
10 active health center sites in Hancock County, run by 1 organization.
| Site ↑ | Health center | Address | City |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bay St. Louis Health Center | COASTAL FAMILY HEALTH CENTER INC | 109 Hospital Dr | Bay Saint Louis 39520 |
| Coastal Family Pharmacy - Bay St. Louis | COASTAL FAMILY HEALTH CENTER INC | 1015 Highway 90 | Bay Saint Louis 39520 |
| SBHC - Bay High | COASTAL FAMILY HEALTH CENTER INC | 750 Blue Meadow Rd | Bay Saint Louis 39520 |
| SBHC - Bay Waveland Middle | COASTAL FAMILY HEALTH CENTER INC | 600 Pine St | Bay Saint Louis 39520 |
| SBHC - East Hancock Elementary | COASTAL FAMILY HEALTH CENTER INC | 4221 Kiln Delisle Rd | Kiln 39556 |
| SBHC - Hancock Middle | COASTAL FAMILY HEALTH CENTER INC | 7070 Stennis Airport Rd | Kiln 39556 |
| SBHC - Hancock North Central Elementary | COASTAL FAMILY HEALTH CENTER INC | 6122 Cuevas Town Rd | Kiln 39556 |
| SBHC - North Bay Elementary | COASTAL FAMILY HEALTH CENTER INC | 602 Pine St | Bay Saint Louis 39520 |
| SBHC - South Hancock Elementary | COASTAL FAMILY HEALTH CENTER INC | 6590 Lakeshore Rd | Bay Saint Louis 39520 |
| SBHC - Waveland Elementary | COASTAL FAMILY HEALTH CENTER INC | 1101 Saint Joseph St | Waveland 39576 |
Source: HRSA health center service delivery and look-alike sites, as of October 14, 2026. Publisher page
Mississippi rural health plan
The MS RHTP strengthens rural healthcare by expanding access, improving care coordination, modernizing infrastructure, growing the workforce, and using telehealth to improve health outcomes.
Initiatives, as the state's abstract names them (page 37):
- Statewide Rural Health Assessment
- Coordinated Regional Integrated Systems (CRIS)
- Workforce Expansion Initiative (WEI)
- Health Technology Advancement and Modernization (HTAM)
- Telehealth Adoption and Provider Support (TAPS)
- Building Rural Infrastructure for Delivery, Growth and Efficiency (BRIDGE) Initiative
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 Hancock County, MS
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