ZIP code
79839
in Fort Hancock, TexasPopulation 1,416
36.06/ 100
Ranked #28,968 of 32,066 US ZIPs (bottom 9.7%)
Ranked #1,693 of 1,868 Texas ZIPs (bottom 9.4%)
Ranked #27 of 32 El Paso, TX ZIPs (bottom 16%)
Ranks are modeled estimates — ZIPs a few hundred places apart are effectively tied.
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.
Uninsured (under 65)
39.6%
in the top 0.2% nationally
Lower is healthier
ST97thUS99thDefinition & source ›
The estimated share of adults aged 18–64 with no current health-insurance coverage.
Full methodology ›Vision disability
13.7%
in the top 0.9% nationally
Lower is healthier
ST97thUS99thDefinition & source ›
The estimated share of adults who are blind or have serious difficulty seeing even with glasses.
Full methodology ›Fair or poor health
39.2%
in the top 0.9% nationally
Lower is healthier
ST98thUS99thDefinition & source ›
The estimated share of adults who rate their own general health as fair or poor.
Full methodology ›Diabetes
23.4%
in the top 1.0% nationally
Lower is healthier
ST99thUS99thDefinition & source ›
The estimated share of adults who have been diagnosed with diabetes.
Full methodology ›Colon-cancer screening
49.1%
in the bottom 1.7% nationally
Higher is healthier
ST4thUS2ndDefinition & source ›
The estimated share of adults aged 45–75 who are up to date on colorectal-cancer screening.
Full methodology ›Fatal road crashes
98.9 per 100,000 residents per year
in the top 0.5% nationally
Lower is healthier
ST99thUS99thDefinition & 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 ›Self-care disability
8.3%
in the top 2.3% nationally
Lower is healthier
ST97thUS98thDefinition & source ›
The estimated share of adults with difficulty dressing or bathing.
Full methodology ›Mobility disability
26.3%
in the top 2.1% nationally
Lower is healthier
ST98thUS98thDefinition & source ›
The estimated share of adults with serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs.
Full methodology ›Distance to a nursing home
25.9 mi
in the top 2.1% nationally
Lower is healthier
ST99thUS98thDefinition & source ›
The distance in miles from this ZIP’s edge to the nearest Medicare- or Medicaid-certified nursing home.
Full methodology ›Mammography
66.4%
in the bottom 4.5% nationally
Higher is healthier
ST5thUS4thDefinition & source ›
The estimated share of women aged 50–74 who had a mammogram within the past two years.
Full methodology ›Cross-source signals
Health need and barriers to care documented here
On our reading, this ZIP code carries the overlap at its acute level: acute means at least three of the six health-need readings and at least three of the six access barriers apply to the same place.
These are two separate readings of public data that both apply to this place — never a claim that one causes the other, never a severity score, and never a statement about any person who lives here.
Health need documented here
- People without health insurance
- Adults reporting fair or poor health
- Chronic conditions
Barriers to reaching care
- Distance to the nearest emergency room
- Thin local supply of doctors
- Thin local supply of pharmacies
A reading appears below only where this ZIP code is among the most-affected 10% of US ZIP codes on it — one national bar, the same for every ZIP in the country.
See the full care-deserts analysis →The read
Overall, Fort Hancock, Texas (ZIP 79839) places in the bottom 9.7% nationally (28,968th) and the bottom 9.4% of Texas (1,693rd), based on limited data; treat as directional.
What the data marks out about this place comes first: modeled uninsured resides in the top 0.2% nationally, and vision disability is in the top 0.9% nationally. Modeled fair or poor health lands in the top 0.9% nationally, and diabetes stands in the top 1.0% nationally. Modeled colon screening registers in the bottom 1.7% nationally, fatal road crashes settles in the top 0.5% nationally, and modeled self-care disability sits in the top 2.3% nationally. Modeled mobility disability lies in the top 2.1% nationally, distance to a nursing home rests in the top 2.1% nationally, and modeled mammography resides in the bottom 4.5% nationally.
Beside the areas that surround it, fatal road crashes runs far higher than the surrounding ZIPs on this measure. Among nearby ZIPs, the nearest healthier one overall is ZIP 79853, just across the boundary. Further still, the area also shows documented health need overlapping with barriers to reaching care, sitting in the most-affected 10% of US ZIP codes on several need measures and several access barriers.
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
Environmental Hazard
healthier than 97%
14%
Mental Health
healthier than 75%
8%
Holding it back
Chronic Disease Burden
healthier than 22%
21%
Social Need / SDOH
healthier than 5%
16%
Preventive Care
healthier than 3%
13%
Risk Behavior
healthier than 13%
11%
Disability
healthier than 3%
7%
Climate / Disaster RiskPartial
healthier than 30%
5%
Healthcare Access
healthier than 13%
5%
Lifting this score
Environmental Hazard
healthier than 96%
14%
Mental Health
healthier than 82%
8%
Climate / Disaster RiskPartial
healthier than 98%
5%
Holding it back
Chronic Disease Burden
healthier than 10%
21%
Social Need / SDOH
healthier than 1%
16%
Preventive Care
healthier than 13%
13%
Risk Behavior
healthier than 20%
11%
Disability
healthier than 2%
7%
Healthcare Access
healthier than 15%
5%
“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
79851
Texasshares a border
Score 35.33
Closest healthier
79853
Texasshares a border
Score 36.98
Similar health profile
87936
New Mexico97% similar profile
Score 30.74
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 / 2023 · BRFSS
| Measure | Crude prevalence | 95% CI |
|---|---|---|
| Arthritis among adults | 27.4% | 25.5–29.3 |
| High blood pressure among adults | 42.2% | 40.0–44.5 |
| Cancer (non-skin) or melanoma among adults | 5.8% | 5.4–6.3 |
| Current asthma among adults | 9.1% | 8.4–9.9 |
| Coronary heart disease among adults | 9.6% | 8.6–10.7 |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease among adults | 8.0% | 6.7–9.3 |
| Depression among adults | 19.2% | 17.4–21.0 |
| Diagnosed diabetes among adults | 23.4% | 21.3–25.3 |
| High cholesterol among adults who have ever been screened | 42.3% | 39.9–44.8 |
| Obesity among adults | 42.1% | 38.1–46.4 |
| Stroke among adults | 5.1% | 4.5–5.8 |
| All teeth lost among adults aged >=65 years | 23.0% | 19.2–27.1 |
PreventionCDC PLACES 2022 / 2023 · BRFSS
| Measure | Crude prevalence | 95% CI |
|---|---|---|
| Current lack of health insurance among adults aged 18-64 years | 39.6% | 32.6–46.3 |
| Taking medicine to control high blood pressure among adults with high blood pressure | 80.2% | 78.5–81.8 |
| Visits to doctor for routine checkup within the past year among adults | 75.7% | 73.5–77.9 |
| Cholesterol screening among adults | 84.0% | 82.0–86.2 |
| Colorectal cancer screening among adults aged 45–75 years | 49.1% | 43.4–54.3 |
| Visited dentist or dental clinic in the past year among adults | 37.1% | 33.5–40.6 |
| Mammography use among women aged 50-74 years | 66.4% | 56.9–74.4 |
Health Risk BehaviorsCDC PLACES 2022 / 2023 · BRFSS
| Measure | Crude prevalence | 95% CI |
|---|---|---|
| Binge drinking among adults | 12.6% | 11.3–14.0 |
| Current cigarette smoking among adults | 15.3% | 12.9–17.7 |
| No leisure-time physical activity among adults | 45.8% | 41.1–50.2 |
| Short sleep duration among adults | 39.6% | 32.2–46.7 |
Health StatusCDC PLACES 2023 · BRFSS
| Measure | Crude prevalence | 95% CI |
|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor self-rated health status among adults | 39.2% | 34.8–43.6 |
| Frequent mental distress among adults | 16.7% | 15.1–18.3 |
| Frequent physical distress among adults | 20.3% | 18.0–22.4 |
DisabilityCDC PLACES 2023 · BRFSS
| Measure | Crude prevalence | 95% CI |
|---|---|---|
| Cognitive disability among adults | 19.8% | 17.2–22.3 |
| Any disability among adults | 45.0% | 40.8–49.0 |
| Hearing disability among adults | 10.5% | 9.5–11.5 |
| Independent living disability among adults | 12.5% | 10.7–14.2 |
| Mobility disability among adults | 26.3% | 23.0–29.4 |
| Self-care disability among adults | 8.3% | 7.0–9.5 |
| Vision disability among adults | 13.7% | 11.9–15.5 |
Community & economyCensus ACS 5-Year · 2024 release · observed
| Measure | Value | US median (p10–p90) | TX median (p10–p90) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poverty rate | 13.8% | 10.6% (3.1–25.8%) n=32,364 | 12.4% (3.5–26.4%) n=1,869 |
| Uninsured 18–64 | 57.6% | 9.0% (1.5–24.3%) n=32,286 | 22.3% (8.2–41.5%) n=1,862 |
| No HS diploma (25+) | 49.8% | 7.9% (1.8–20.7%) n=32,505 | 12.2% (2.5–30.0%) n=1,881 |
| Bachelor's or higher (25+) | 6.0% | 23.3% (9.2–53.6%) n=32,505 | 21.9% (9.0–51.4%) n=1,881 |
| Unemployment rate (16+) | 3.1% | 3.9% (0.0–9.8%) n=32,274 | 4.2% (0.0–9.4%) n=1,865 |
| Households without a vehicle | 7.2% | 3.9% (0.0–12.5%) n=32,322 | 3.7% (0.0–10.8%) n=1,868 |
| Broadband subscription | 88.6% | 89.3% (75.1–97.1%) n=32,322 | 89.2% (75.0–97.3%) n=1,868 |
| Housing cost burden (≥30% income) | 9.6% | 23.7% (10.6–40.0%) n=32,322 | 26.2% (8.8–40.3%) n=1,868 |
| Homeownership rate | 69.9% | 78.7% (51.7–94.0%) n=32,322 | 75.0% (46.4–92.3%) n=1,868 |
| Crowded housing (>1 per room) | 0.6% | 1.3% (0.0–6.3%) n=32,322 | 3.1% (0.0–9.0%) n=1,868 |
| Foreign-born population | 23.9% | 2.6% (0.0–18.6%) n=32,553 | 8.1% (0.1–26.4%) n=1,886 |
| Single-parent households | 38.9% | 53.6% (37.3–74.1%) n=32,087 | 48.5% (34.3–70.6%) n=1,861 |
| Population 65+ | 7.1% | 19.4% (10.8–33.6%) n=32,553 | 16.1% (8.6–30.1%) n=1,886 |
| Median age | 42.9 yr | 42.2 yr (33.0–56.3) n=32,292 | 38.3 yr (30.9–52.3) n=1,866 |
| Median household income | $47,950 | $72,070 ($46,039–$118,707) n=30,318 | $69,983 ($46,006–$112,413) n=1,737 |
| Median home value | $55,000 | $222,200 ($100,300–$579,820) n=30,049 | $210,500 ($97,060–$429,760) n=1,693 |
| Median gross rent | $540 | $1,021 ($677–$1,912) n=25,670 | $1,154 ($764–$1,815) n=1,508 |
Life expectancyNCHS / RWJF USALEEP · model-based
| Measure | Value | US median (p10–p90) | TX median (p10–p90) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy at birth | 77.2 yr ± 1.06 | 78.9 yr (74.7–82.8) n=31,308 | 78.2 yr (75.1–81.7) n=1,772 |
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 1.06 years of 77.2, 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