County health data
Nelson County, ND
CDC PLACES estimates diabetes at 12.4% of adults in Nelson County (North Dakota: 9.5%). This county has 6 HRSA shortage designations and 1 hospital.
License. US government work, Public Domain Mark 1.0.
For help with food, housing, utilities, or rides in Nelson County, call 211 or visit 211.org.
Health measures compared with the state
40 measures for adults in Nelson County (about 2,397 adults). 24 have a North Dakota figure from the same survey.
Largest differences from the North Dakota figure: high blood pressure 40.0% vs 31.8% (+8.2 points), arthritis 32.9% vs 26.0% (+6.9 points), and high cholesterol, adults ever screened 40.0% vs 35.1% (+4.9 points).
Health Outcomes
| Measure | Nelson County | North Dakota | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arthritis | 32.9% | 26.0% | 26.3% | 2023 |
| High blood pressure | 40.0% | 31.8% | 34.0% | 2023 |
| Cancer, excluding non-melanoma skin cancer | 11.4% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Current asthma | 9.7% | 10.1% | 10.2% | 2023 |
| Coronary heart disease | 8.5% | 3.9% | 4.0% | 2023 |
| COPD | 7.5% | 5.2% | 6.3% | 2023 |
| Depression | 19.4% | 22.3% | 21.8% | 2023 |
| Diagnosed diabetes | 12.4% | 9.5% | 11.8% | 2023 |
| High cholesterol, adults ever screened | 40.0% | 35.1% | 37.2% | 2023 |
| Obesity | 39.6% | 35.6% | 34.4% | 2023 |
| Stroke | 4.0% | 2.6% | 3.3% | 2023 |
| All teeth lost, ages 65 and older | 11.4% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
Prevention
| Measure | Nelson County | North Dakota | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, ages 18 to 64 | 6.9% | 6.0% | 9.3% | 2023 |
| Taking blood pressure medicine, adults with high blood pressure | 82.4% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Routine checkup in the past year | 78.2% | 75.7% | 78.4% | 2023 |
| Cholesterol screening | 87.2% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Colorectal cancer screening, ages 45 to 75 | 70.8% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
| Dental visit in the past year | 64.5% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
| Mammogram, women ages 50 to 74 | 81.0% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
Health Risk Behaviors
| Measure | Nelson County | North Dakota | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drinking | 18.0% | 21.2% | 15.1% | 2023 |
| Current smoking | 13.2% | 13.4% | 12.1% | 2023 |
| No leisure-time physical activity | 23.8% | 21.5% | 24.5% | 2023 |
| Short sleep | 31.3% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
Health Status
| Measure | Nelson County | North Dakota | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health | 17.4% | 15.3% | 18.5% | 2023 |
| Frequent mental distress | 12.3% | 13.1% | 15.4% | 2023 |
| Frequent physical distress | 12.8% | 10.3% | 12.6% | 2023 |
Disability
| Measure | Nelson County | North Dakota | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cognitive disability | 11.4% | 11.9% | 13.7% | 2023 |
| Any disability | 31.1% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Hearing disability | 10.4% | 8.7% | 7.4% | 2023 |
| Independent living disability | 7.2% | 6.7% | 7.8% | 2023 |
| Mobility disability | 14.4% | 10.7% | 13.4% | 2023 |
| Self-care disability | 3.6% | 3.1% | 3.7% | 2023 |
| Vision disability | 4.5% | 4.0% | 5.0% | 2023 |
Health-Related Social Needs
| Measure | Nelson County | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Lack of social and emotional support | 19.8% | 2023 |
| Food insecurity in the past year | 9.2% | 2023 |
| Received food stamps in the past year | 5.6% | 2023 |
| Housing insecurity in the past year | 7.4% | 2023 |
| Lack of reliable transportation in the past year | 5.3% | 2023 |
| Loneliness | 27.1% | 2023 |
| Utility shut-off threat in the past year | 4.8% | 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
Health professional shortage areas
HRSA lists 6 designated shortage rows in Nelson County: primary care 2 (highest score 17), mental health 2 (highest score 14), 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 | 14 |
| dental | 1 | 1 | 16 |
Area and population designations
| Designation | Discipline | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spirit Lake Nation | primary care | Geographic HPSA | 17 |
| Spirit Lake Nation | dental | Geographic HPSA | 16 |
| Nelson County | mental health | High Needs Geographic HPSA | 12 |
Facility designations (3)
| Designation | Discipline | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| NELSON COUNTY HEALTH SYSTEM - MCVILLE CLINIC | primary care | Rural Health Clinic | 15 |
| NELSON COUNTY HEALTH SYSTEM - MCVILLE CLINIC | mental health | Rural Health Clinic | 14 |
| NELSON COUNTY HEALTH SYSTEM - MCVILLE CLINIC | dental | 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 Nelson County, 1 of them critical access. None has a readmission rate CMS rates worse than the national rate.
| Hospital | City | Stars | Heart failure | Pneumonia | COPD | Heart attack | Hip or knee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NELSON COUNTY HEALTH SYSTEMCritical access | MCVILLE | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 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
North Dakota rural health plan
North Dakota Rural Health Transformation Program
Initiatives, as the state's abstract names them (page 52):
- Strengthen and Stabilize Rural Health Workforce
- Make North Dakota Healthy Again
- Bring High-Quality Health Care Closer to Home
- Connect Tech, Data and Providers for a Stronger ND
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
For health centers, health departments, and nonprofits
Our community need, ready for a grant
Rivvi opens with Nelson County, ND 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.
Neighboring counties
Medicare plans in Nelson County, ND
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