Skip to main content
ZipVitals

ZIP code

17344

in McSherrystown, PennsylvaniaPopulation 3,719

45.58/ 100

Ranked #21,797 of 32,066 US ZIPs (bottom 32%)

Ranked #1,313 of 1,748 Pennsylvania ZIPs (bottom 25%)

Ranked #11 of 13 Gettysburg, PA ZIPs (bottom 15%)

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.

Fatal road crashes

0 per 100,000 residents per year

at the national minimum

Lower is healthier

ST1st
US1st
Definition & source ›

The annual rate of fatal road crashes per 100,000 residents, pooled over a ten-year window.

A rate per resident population. Where a ZIP has too few residents for the rate to be reliable — about 30% of US ZIPs — no value is published rather than an unstable one; those ZIPs are absent from this comparison, not counted as crash-free.

Full methodology ›

Walkability

180 intersections/sq mi

in the top 3.4% nationally

Higher is healthier

ST93rd
US97th
Definition & source ›

The number of street intersections per square mile — a standard street-connectivity measure; denser networks correlate with more walkable neighborhoods.

Full methodology ›

Elder-services access

0.27 per 1,000 residents

in the top 5.2% nationally

Higher is healthier

ST96th
US95th
Definition & source ›

The number of services for older adults and people with disabilities inside this ZIP’s boundary, per 1,000 residents.

Counted from establishments located inside this ZIP’s boundary, so one just across the line is not counted. Where a ZIP has too few residents for the density to be reliable, no value is published rather than an unreliable one.

Full methodology ›

Homeownership rate

56.6%

in the bottom 13.2% nationally

Higher is healthier

ST10th
US13th
Definition & source ›

The share of occupied homes that are owned, rather than rented, by the people living in them.

Full methodology ›

Tree cover

0.19%

in the bottom 16% nationally

Higher is healthier

ST4th
US16th
Definition & source ›

The share of this ZIP’s land area covered by forest.

Full methodology ›

The read

Given how limited the coverage is here, McSherrystown, Pennsylvania (ZIP 17344) lands in the bottom 32% nationally (21,797th) and the bottom 25% of Pennsylvania (1,313th), based on limited data; treat as directional.

continue reading

A number of the available measures point to this much: fatal road crashes resides at the national minimum, and walkability registers in the top 3.4% nationally. Elder services rests in the top 5.2% nationally. Modeled loud transportation noise stands at the national minimum, shared with about 22% of ZIPs. Civic lies in the top 11.3% nationally. Crowded housing lands at the national minimum, shared with about 29% of ZIPs. Pharmacy sits in the top 16% nationally. On the other hand, homeownership is in the bottom 13.2% nationally. Distance to a hazardous-chemical facility settles at the national minimum, shared with about 31% of ZIPs. Modeled tree cover resides in the bottom 16% nationally.

Set beside the nearby areas, walkability runs far higher than the surrounding ZIPs on this measure. A note on the terms: 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. Loud transportation noise is the modeled share of an area exposed to road, rail, and air noise at or above 65 decibels, near conversation volume. For a healthier nearby comparison, ZIP 17331, just across the boundary, ranks better 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

Preventive CarePartial

healthier than 61%

15%

Climate / Disaster Risk

healthier than 65%

6%

Healthcare Access

healthier than 72%

6%

Holding it back

Social Need / SDOH

healthier than 17%

19%

Environmental Hazard

healthier than 4%

16%

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.

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
MeasureCrude prevalence95% CI
All teeth lost among adults aged >=65 years14.5%11.6–18.0
PreventionCDC PLACES 2022 · BRFSS
MeasureCrude prevalence95% CI
Colorectal cancer screening among adults aged 45–75 years68.4%63.6–73.2
Visited dentist or dental clinic in the past year among adults61.2%57.3–65.2
Mammography use among women aged 50-74 years75.9%67.8–83.0
Health Risk BehaviorsCDC PLACES 2022 · BRFSS
MeasureCrude prevalence95% CI
Short sleep duration among adults39.8%33.1–46.9
Community & economyCensus ACS 5-Year · 2024 release · observed
MeasureValueUS median (p10–p90)PA median (p10–p90)
Poverty rate17.1%10.6% (3.1–25.8%) n=32,3649.3% (2.1–21.6%) n=1,759
Uninsured 18–644.6%9.0% (1.5–24.3%) n=32,2866.3% (0.0–16.6%) n=1,753
No HS diploma (25+)8.1%7.9% (1.8–20.7%) n=32,5057.0% (1.5–16.1%) n=1,762
Bachelor's or higher (25+)16.8%23.3% (9.2–53.6%) n=32,50521.9% (8.9–50.4%) n=1,762
Unemployment rate (16+)7.4%3.9% (0.0–9.8%) n=32,2743.9% (0.0–9.6%) n=1,755
Households without a vehicle4.0%3.9% (0.0–12.5%) n=32,3224.8% (0.0–15.6%) n=1,758
Broadband subscription85.5%89.3% (75.1–97.1%) n=32,32288.2% (75.7–97.3%) n=1,758
Housing cost burden (≥30% income)32.3%23.7% (10.6–40.0%) n=32,32221.9% (9.9–35.3%) n=1,758
Homeownership rate56.6%78.7% (51.7–94.0%) n=32,32280.1% (57.1–94.5%) n=1,758
Crowded housing (>1 per room)0.0%1.3% (0.0–6.3%) n=32,3220.6% (0.0–3.3%) n=1,758
Foreign-born population0.5%2.6% (0.0–18.6%) n=32,5531.4% (0.0–10.2%) n=1,763
Single-parent households55.3%53.6% (37.3–74.1%) n=32,08756.3% (38.5–72.8%) n=1,744
Population 65+17.3%19.4% (10.8–33.6%) n=32,55321.1% (12.3–31.4%) n=1,763
Median age33.6 yr42.2 yr (33.0–56.3) n=32,29244.2 yr (33.9–55.5) n=1,752
Median household income$65,833$72,070 ($46,039–$118,707) n=30,318$71,250 ($50,880–$112,747) n=1,642
Median home value$193,500$222,200 ($100,300–$579,820) n=30,049$197,200 ($99,000–$382,120) n=1,649
Median gross rent$1,387$1,021 ($677–$1,912) n=25,670$983 ($701–$1,527) n=1,367
Life expectancyNCHS / RWJF USALEEP · model-based
MeasureValueUS median (p10–p90)PA median (p10–p90)
Life expectancy at birth78.3 yr ± 1.4278.9 yr (74.7–82.8) n=31,30879.2 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 1.42 years of 78.3, and it’s very unlikely to be off by more than twice that.

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