County health data
Lancaster County, VA
CDC PLACES estimates diabetes at 18.1% of adults in Lancaster County (Virginia: 11.8%). This county has 3 HRSA shortage designations and 1 hospital.
License: a US government work, in the public domain (Public Domain Mark 1.0).
For help with food, housing, utilities, or rides in Lancaster County, call 211 or visit 211.org.
Health measures compared with the state
40 measures for adults in Lancaster County (about 9,249 adults). 24 have a Virginia figure from the same survey.
Largest differences from the Virginia figure: high blood pressure 49.1% vs 35.6% (+13.5 points), arthritis 39.9% vs 27.0% (+12.9 points), and mobility disability 21.5% vs 13.7% (+7.8 points).
Health Outcomes
| Measure | Lancaster County | Virginia | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arthritis | 39.9% | 27.0% | 26.3% | 2023 |
| High blood pressure | 49.1% | 35.6% | 34.0% | 2023 |
| Cancer, excluding non-melanoma skin cancer | 12.7% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Current asthma | 10.8% | 10.2% | 10.2% | 2023 |
| Coronary heart disease | 10.8% | 4.3% | 4.0% | 2023 |
| COPD | 10.3% | 6.9% | 6.3% | 2023 |
| Depression | 20.7% | 20.4% | 21.8% | 2023 |
| Diagnosed diabetes | 18.1% | 11.8% | 11.8% | 2023 |
| High cholesterol, adults ever screened | 46.7% | 39.3% | 37.2% | 2023 |
| Obesity | 35.1% | 34.3% | 34.4% | 2023 |
| Stroke | 5.6% | 3.7% | 3.3% | 2023 |
| All teeth lost, ages 65 and older | 11.4% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
Prevention
| Measure | Lancaster County | Virginia | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, ages 18 to 64 | 8.3% | 10.1% | 9.3% | 2023 |
| Taking blood pressure medicine, adults with high blood pressure | 85.4% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Routine checkup in the past year | 84.2% | 80.2% | 78.4% | 2023 |
| Cholesterol screening | 91.1% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Colorectal cancer screening, ages 45 to 75 | 73.5% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
| Dental visit in the past year | 66.6% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
| Mammogram, women ages 50 to 74 | 76.4% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
Health Risk Behaviors
| Measure | Lancaster County | Virginia | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drinking | 10.3% | 13.0% | 15.1% | 2023 |
| Current smoking | 13.4% | 10.9% | 12.1% | 2023 |
| No leisure-time physical activity | 29.2% | 22.3% | 24.5% | 2023 |
| Short sleep | 34.3% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
Health Status
| Measure | Lancaster County | Virginia | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health | 23.2% | 18.1% | 18.5% | 2023 |
| Frequent mental distress | 14.3% | 15.4% | 15.4% | 2023 |
| Frequent physical distress | 16.3% | 12.7% | 12.6% | 2023 |
Disability
| Measure | Lancaster County | Virginia | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cognitive disability | 13.9% | 14.5% | 13.7% | 2023 |
| Any disability | 37.9% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Hearing disability | 10.7% | 6.5% | 7.4% | 2023 |
| Independent living disability | 9.8% | 7.3% | 7.8% | 2023 |
| Mobility disability | 21.5% | 13.7% | 13.4% | 2023 |
| Self-care disability | 5.1% | 3.3% | 3.7% | 2023 |
| Vision disability | 6.4% | 5.2% | 5.0% | 2023 |
Health-Related Social Needs
| Measure | Lancaster County | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Lack of social and emotional support | 20.5% | 2023 |
| Food insecurity in the past year | 13.8% | 2023 |
| Received food stamps in the past year | 12.4% | 2023 |
| Housing insecurity in the past year | 9.8% | 2023 |
| Lack of reliable transportation in the past year | 7.3% | 2023 |
| Loneliness | 30.7% | 2023 |
| Utility shut-off threat in the past year | 6.8% | 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
For health centers, health departments, and nonprofits
Our community need, ready for a grant
Rivvi opens with Lancaster County, VA 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 Lancaster County: primary care 1 (highest score 12), mental health 1 (highest score 18), 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 | 12 |
| mental health | 1 | 0 | 18 |
| dental | 1 | 0 | 13 |
Area and population designations
| Designation | Discipline | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Middle Peninsula/Northern Neck MHCA | mental health | High Needs Geographic HPSA | 18 |
| Lancaster-Northumberland | dental | Geographic HPSA | 13 |
| Lancaster-Northumberland | primary care | Geographic HPSA | 12 |
In the Type column, a Geographic HPSA covers everyone in the area; and a High Needs Geographic HPSA is a geographic designation that also meets HRSA's added tests for high need. In HRSA's designation names, 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 1 acute care or critical access hospital in Lancaster County, 1 of them critical access. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAPPAHANNOCK GENERAL HOSPITALCritical access | KILMARNOCK | 4 | 21.6% | 16.7% | 19.6% | 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
Virginia rural health plan
VA Rural Vitality – transforming health access and outcomes for more than 1.5 million rural residents through technological innovation, workforce development, wellness, and sustainable access
Initiatives, as the state's abstract names them (page 68):
- CareIQ
- Homegrown Health Heroes
- Connected Care, Closer to Home
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 Lancaster County, VA
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