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ZipVitals

ZIP code

42079

in Sedalia, KentuckyPopulation 1,315

48.18/ 100

Ranked #18,706 of 32,066 US ZIPs (bottom 42%)

Ranked #86 of 742 Kentucky ZIPs (top 11.6%)

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

60.8 per 100,000 residents per year

in the top 2.2% nationally

Lower is healthier

ST98th
US98th
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 ›

Fiber broadband

99.5%

in the top 3.3% nationally

Higher is healthier

ST92nd
US97th
Definition & source ›

The share of homes where fiber-optic internet service is available.

Full methodology ›

Home broadband subscription

66%

in the bottom 4.5% nationally

Higher is healthier

ST7th
US4th
Definition & source ›

The share of households with a broadband internet subscription.

Full methodology ›

Walkability

2.3 intersections/sq mi

in the bottom 9.0% nationally

Higher is healthier

ST6th
US9th
Definition & source ›

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

Full methodology ›

PFAS in drinking water

10.2%

in the bottom 9.6% nationally

Lower is healthier

ST4th
US10th
Definition & source ›

The modeled probability that PFAS “forever chemicals” would be detected in untreated groundwater in this area, the source private wells draw on.

A modeled likelihood for untreated groundwater, the source drawn on by private wells, which are federally unregulated. It is not a measurement of treated water delivered by a public system, and it is not a test of any individual well.

Full methodology ›

Poverty rate

4.2%

in the bottom 14.9% nationally

Lower is healthier

ST9th
US15th
Definition & source ›

The share of residents whose income is below the federal poverty line, from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

Full methodology ›

Humid extreme heat

101.5 days/year

in the top 22% nationally

Lower is healthier

ST97th
US78th
Definition & source ›

The average number of days per year when modeled heat stress — temperature, humidity, sun, and wind combined — reaches levels hard on the body outdoors.

Full methodology ›

Radon

1.2 pCi/L

in the bottom 31% nationally

Lower is healthier

ST2nd
US31st
Definition & source ›

The modeled typical indoor radon level for this area, in picocuries per liter — the EPA recommends fixing a home at 4 pCi/L or above.

Modeled from indoor-radon measurements. In Alaska and Hawaii, where those measurements are not published, a US Geological Survey geologic radon-potential category stands in — a coarser input, disclosed rather than hidden.

Full methodology ›

Dry extreme heat

9.8 days/year

in the top 36% nationally

Lower is healthier

ST94th
US64th
Definition & source ›

The average number of days per year with a modeled daily high of at least 95 °F.

Full methodology ›

The read

With only part of the picture in hand, Sedalia, Kentucky (ZIP 42079) lands in the bottom 42% nationally (18,706th) and the top 11.6% of Kentucky (86th), based on limited data; treat as directional.

continue reading

Where the data does reach, it says a few things here: fiber broadband lands in the top 3.3% nationally. Households without a vehicle resides at the national minimum, shared with about 16% of ZIPs. Modeled pfas lies in the bottom 9.6% nationally. Modeled loud transportation noise settles at the national minimum, shared with about 22% of ZIPs. Crowded housing stands at the national minimum, shared with about 29% of ZIPs. Poverty is in the bottom 14.9% nationally. Set against that, fatal road crashes rests in the top 2.2% nationally, home broadband subscription sits in the bottom 4.5% nationally, and walkability registers in the bottom 9.0% nationally. Distance to a hazardous-chemical facility lands at the national minimum, shared with about 31% of ZIPs.

In plain language, pfas is the man-made "forever chemicals" that build up in the body and environment instead of breaking down; here a modeled estimate of the chance a private well contains them. 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. No nearby ZIP ranks healthier overall than this one.

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.

Compare within

Lifting this score

Environmental Hazard

healthier than 90%

16%

About typical

Social Need / SDOH

healthier than 46%

19%

Preventive CarePartial

healthier than 56%

15%

Holding it back

Climate / Disaster Risk

healthier than 36%

6%

Healthcare Access

healthier than 26%

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.

Lifting this score

Social Need / SDOH

healthier than 98%

19%

Environmental Hazard

in the top 0.00%

16%

Preventive CarePartial

in the top 0.00%

15%

Holding it back

Climate / Disaster Risk

in the bottom 0.00%

6%

Healthcare Access

in the bottom 0.00%

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.

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 years17.6%14.2–21.1
PreventionCDC PLACES 2022 · BRFSS
MeasureCrude prevalence95% CI
Colorectal cancer screening among adults aged 45–75 years67.8%62.2–72.6
Visited dentist or dental clinic in the past year among adults62.3%58.2–65.9
Mammography use among women aged 50-74 years75.1%66.0–81.9
Health Risk BehaviorsCDC PLACES 2022 · BRFSS
MeasureCrude prevalence95% CI
Short sleep duration among adults36.5%29.4–42.8
Community & economyCensus ACS 5-Year · 2024 release · observed
MeasureValueUS median (p10–p90)KY median (p10–p90)
Poverty rate4.2%10.6% (3.1–25.8%) n=32,36417.1% (4.6–39.2%) n=747
Uninsured 18–6432.1%9.0% (1.5–24.3%) n=32,2866.9% (0.0–16.5%) n=741
No HS diploma (25+)6.0%7.9% (1.8–20.7%) n=32,50513.7% (3.8–29.1%) n=748
Bachelor's or higher (25+)16.7%23.3% (9.2–53.6%) n=32,50514.8% (1.5–33.6%) n=748
Unemployment rate (16+)1.0%3.9% (0.0–9.8%) n=32,2743.8% (0.0–11.2%) n=733
Households without a vehicle0.0%3.9% (0.0–12.5%) n=32,3224.6% (0.0–15.0%) n=745
Broadband subscription66.0%89.3% (75.1–97.1%) n=32,32286.7% (71.5–97.1%) n=745
Housing cost burden (≥30% income)24.5%23.7% (10.6–40.0%) n=32,32220.9% (6.2–34.7%) n=745
Homeownership rate74.6%78.7% (51.7–94.0%) n=32,32278.0% (58.2–96.7%) n=745
Crowded housing (>1 per room)0.0%1.3% (0.0–6.3%) n=32,3220.7% (0.0–4.8%) n=745
Foreign-born population2.8%2.6% (0.0–18.6%) n=32,5530.3% (0.0–5.4%) n=749
Single-parent households50.9%53.6% (37.3–74.1%) n=32,08752.0% (34.7–75.0%) n=738
Population 65+15.8%19.4% (10.8–33.6%) n=32,55318.2% (9.6–29.6%) n=749
Median age48.4 yr42.2 yr (33.0–56.3) n=32,29241.8 yr (32.3–53.9) n=738
Median household income$59,375$72,070 ($46,039–$118,707) n=30,318$57,097 ($34,611–$87,693) n=645
Median home value$119,100$222,200 ($100,300–$579,820) n=30,049$144,600 ($66,860–$265,120) n=643
Median gross rent$1,021 ($677–$1,912) n=25,670$821 ($592–$1,170) n=466
Life expectancyNCHS / RWJF USALEEP · model-based
MeasureValueUS median (p10–p90)KY median (p10–p90)
Life expectancy at birth77.8 yr ± 1.6578.9 yr (74.7–82.8) n=31,30874.8 yr (71.5–78.1) n=739

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 1.65 years of 77.8, 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