ZIP code
16256
in Smicksburg, PennsylvaniaPopulation 2,162
36.52/ 100
Ranked #28,750 of 32,066 US ZIPs (bottom 10.4%)
Ranked #1,653 of 1,748 Pennsylvania ZIPs (bottom 5.5%)
Ranks are modeled estimates — ZIPs a few hundred places apart are effectively tied.
Some domains have limited local data — read this Score as directional
What defines this ZIP
Metrics where this ZIP sits in the tails of the national distribution — the ones that most set it apart. Select any tile for its definition and methodology.
Home broadband subscription
39.8%
in the bottom 0.9% nationally
Higher is healthier
ST1stUS1stDefinition & source ›
The share of households with a broadband internet subscription.
Full methodology ›Households without a vehicle
45.2%
in the top 1.2% nationally
Lower is healthier
ST99thUS99thDefinition & source ›
The share of households with no vehicle available.
Full methodology ›Crowded housing
11.8%
in the top 3.5% nationally
Lower is healthier
ST99thUS97thDefinition & source ›
The share of occupied homes with more than one person per room, the Census definition of crowded housing.
Full methodology ›Distance to a hazardous-chemical facility
13.4 mi
in the top 9.5% nationally
Higher is healthier
ST97thUS91stDefinition & source ›
The distance in miles from this ZIP’s edge to the nearest facility that handles enough hazardous chemicals to require an EPA risk-management plan for accidental releases.
Full methodology ›Tooth loss
22.3%
in the top 11.7% nationally
Lower is healthier
ST95thUS88thDefinition & source ›
The estimated share of adults aged 65 and older who have lost all of their natural teeth.
Full methodology ›Slow internet speeds
0.86%
in the top 12.8% nationally
Lower is healthier
ST94thUS87thDefinition & source ›
The share of homes whose fastest available download speed is under 10 Mbps.
Full methodology ›Poverty rate
22.2%
in the top 14.5% nationally
Lower is healthier
ST91stUS86thDefinition & source ›
The share of residents whose income is below the federal poverty line, from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.
Full methodology ›Natural-disaster risk
in the top 23% nationally
Lower is healthier
ST95thUS77thDefinition & source ›
This area’s national rank on its single highest non-flood natural hazard — such as wildfire, tornado, or earthquake — in FEMA’s modeled National Risk Index; flooding is shown separately.
Full methodology ›Air-toxics cancer risk
20 per million
in the bottom 25% nationally
Lower is healthier
ST1stUS25thDefinition & source ›
The EPA’s modeled estimate of added lifetime cancer risk from breathing outdoor air toxics, in cases per million people exposed over a lifetime.
Full methodology ›The read
With coverage still partial across the sources, Smicksburg, Pennsylvania (ZIP 16256) lands in the bottom 10.4% nationally (28,750th) and the bottom 5.5% of Pennsylvania (1,653rd), based on limited data; treat as directional.
This area's available measures are set out plainly: distance to a hazardous-chemical facility registers in the top 9.5% nationally. Modeled extreme heat resides at the national minimum, shared with about 19% of ZIPs. Housing-cost burden settles in the bottom 11.4% nationally. Against that, home broadband subscription is in the bottom 0.9% nationally, and households without a vehicle sits in the top 1.2% nationally. Crowded housing lands in the top 3.5% nationally, and modeled radon lies in the top 13.9% nationally. Modeled tooth loss stands in the top 11.7% nationally, and slow internet speeds rests in the top 12.8% nationally. Poverty registers in the top 14.5% nationally.
Measured against the nearby ZIPs, households without a vehicle runs far higher than the surrounding ZIPs on this measure. Defined simply, distance to a hazardous-chemical facility is a plant handling large amounts of hazardous chemicals that must file an EPA risk-management plan for accidental releases. Radon is a radioactive soil gas the EPA identifies as the top cause of lung cancer in nonsmokers. Extreme heat is a modeled count of days a year reaching a dangerously high temperature, a leading weather hazard. ZIP 15744, just across the boundary, comes out healthier overall.
What’s driving this score
Nine domains make up the ZipVitals Score — here is how this ZIP does on each, and how much each one counts.
Compared with the ZIP codes measured across all nine scoring domains — not with all US ZIP codes.
Lifting this score
Climate / Disaster Risk
healthier than 72%
6%
About typical
Environmental Hazard
healthier than 58%
16%
Holding it back
Social Need / SDOH
healthier than 8%
19%
Preventive CarePartial
healthier than 20%
15%
Healthcare Access
healthier than 36%
6%
Not placed: Chronic Disease Burden and Risk Behavior — too little of each is measured here to compare reliably. They still count toward the score (together 38% of it); we just will not publish a standing we cannot stand behind.
No data: Mental Health and Disability — not measured in this ZIP, so it is left out of the score entirely rather than estimated.
“Share” is how much of this ZIP’s score the domain accounts for. Percentages are rounded; higher is healthier in every domain. How the score works, and who it compares you with ›
Nearby & similar ZIPs
Editorially selected — see how this ZIP compares to nearby and similar places.
Nearby
15744
Pennsylvaniashares a border
Score 42.63
Closest healthier
15747
Pennsylvaniashares a border
Score 43.68
Similar health profile
15753
Pennsylvania100% similar profile
Score 30.03
How these were chosen: only ZIPs with a published Score appear — a nearby ZIP with too little data to score won’t. Nearby means closest by distance between ZIP boundaries, which can cross state lines. A similar health profile is a close match across the nine Score domains, not similar demographics. Distances are measured between ZIP boundaries — ZIPs that touch share a border. How distance is measured
Evidence
Every measure this page draws on, by source. Collapsed by default — the full data stays in the page for search engines either way.
Health OutcomesCDC PLACES 2022 · BRFSS
| Measure | Crude prevalence | 95% CI |
|---|---|---|
| All teeth lost among adults aged >=65 years | 22.3% | 18.4–26.7 |
PreventionCDC PLACES 2022 · BRFSS
| Measure | Crude prevalence | 95% CI |
|---|---|---|
| Colorectal cancer screening among adults aged 45–75 years | 62.6% | 57.0–68.0 |
| Visited dentist or dental clinic in the past year among adults | 52.9% | 49.0–57.0 |
| Mammography use among women aged 50-74 years | 74.5% | 66.4–81.8 |
Health Risk BehaviorsCDC PLACES 2022 · BRFSS
| Measure | Crude prevalence | 95% CI |
|---|---|---|
| Short sleep duration among adults | 40.0% | 33.1–47.5 |
Community & economyCensus ACS 5-Year · 2024 release · observed
| Measure | Value | US median (p10–p90) | PA median (p10–p90) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poverty rate | 22.2% | 10.6% (3.1–25.8%) n=32,364 | 9.3% (2.1–21.6%) n=1,759 |
| Uninsured 18–64 | 39.6% | 9.0% (1.5–24.3%) n=32,286 | 6.3% (0.0–16.6%) n=1,753 |
| No HS diploma (25+) | 28.3% | 7.9% (1.8–20.7%) n=32,505 | 7.0% (1.5–16.1%) n=1,762 |
| Bachelor's or higher (25+) | 11.6% | 23.3% (9.2–53.6%) n=32,505 | 21.9% (8.9–50.4%) n=1,762 |
| Unemployment rate (16+) | 4.2% | 3.9% (0.0–9.8%) n=32,274 | 3.9% (0.0–9.6%) n=1,755 |
| Households without a vehicle | 45.2% | 3.9% (0.0–12.5%) n=32,322 | 4.8% (0.0–15.6%) n=1,758 |
| Broadband subscription | 39.8% | 89.3% (75.1–97.1%) n=32,322 | 88.2% (75.7–97.3%) n=1,758 |
| Housing cost burden (≥30% income) | 11.4% | 23.7% (10.6–40.0%) n=32,322 | 21.9% (9.9–35.3%) n=1,758 |
| Homeownership rate | 88.0% | 78.7% (51.7–94.0%) n=32,322 | 80.1% (57.1–94.5%) n=1,758 |
| Crowded housing (>1 per room) | 11.8% | 1.3% (0.0–6.3%) n=32,322 | 0.6% (0.0–3.3%) n=1,758 |
| Foreign-born population | 0.2% | 2.6% (0.0–18.6%) n=32,553 | 1.4% (0.0–10.2%) n=1,763 |
| Single-parent households | 48.0% | 53.6% (37.3–74.1%) n=32,087 | 56.3% (38.5–72.8%) n=1,744 |
| Population 65+ | 10.4% | 19.4% (10.8–33.6%) n=32,553 | 21.1% (12.3–31.4%) n=1,763 |
| Median age | 20.1 yr | 42.2 yr (33.0–56.3) n=32,292 | 44.2 yr (33.9–55.5) n=1,752 |
| Median household income | $60,398 | $72,070 ($46,039–$118,707) n=30,318 | $71,250 ($50,880–$112,747) n=1,642 |
| Median home value | $155,400 | $222,200 ($100,300–$579,820) n=30,049 | $197,200 ($99,000–$382,120) n=1,649 |
| Median gross rent | $859 | $1,021 ($677–$1,912) n=25,670 | $983 ($701–$1,527) n=1,367 |
Life expectancyNCHS / RWJF USALEEP · model-based
| Measure | Value | US median (p10–p90) | PA median (p10–p90) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy at birth | 77.0 yr ± 0.46 | 78.9 yr (74.7–82.8) n=31,308 | 79.2 yr (76.0–82.0) n=1,730 |
About the ± — it’s this estimate’s give-or-take (statisticians call it the standard error). The true life expectancy for this ZIP most likely falls within 0.46 years of 77.0, and it’s very unlikely to be off by more than twice that.
More ZIPs to explore ▾More ZIPs to explore ▴
How these lists were built: they draw only from ZIPs that have a published Score, so ZIPs with too little data to score are not listed. Distance-based lists use distance between ZIP boundaries with no state filter, so an out-of-state ZIP can appear. Statistically similar means a close match across the nine Score domains, not a demographic match: the measure is the cosine similarity between two ZIPs’ domain scores, taken over the domains both ZIPs have data for and only where that overlap covers at least six of the nine — and where no ZIP clears that minimum-overlap floor, that list is left out rather than filled with a weak match. How distance is measured