ZIP code
81089
in Walsenburg, ColoradoPopulation 4,890
47.76/ 100
Ranked #19,233 of 32,066 US ZIPs (bottom 40%)
Ranked #415 of 502 Colorado ZIPs (bottom 17%)
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.
Air-toxics cancer risk
10 per million
in the bottom 2.8% nationally
Lower is healthier
ST17thUS3rdDefinition & 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 ›Mammography
66.5%
in the bottom 4.7% nationally
Higher is healthier
ST16thUS5thDefinition & source ›
The estimated share of women aged 50–74 who had a mammogram within the past two years.
Full methodology ›Distance to a hazardous-chemical facility
21.2 mi
in the top 4.3% nationally
Higher is healthier
ST89thUS96thDefinition & 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 ›Grocery access
0.21 per 1,000 residents
in the top 6.5% nationally
Higher is healthier
ST93rdUS94thDefinition & source ›
The number of full supermarkets 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. ZipVitals’s food-access signal is derived from these in-ZIP densities — it is not USDA’s food-desert designation, which measures distance to the nearest supermarket. Where a leg is missing, a ZIP reads “not determinable,” never “not a food desert.”
Full methodology ›Elder-services access
0.21 per 1,000 residents
in the top 6.5% nationally
Higher is healthier
ST91stUS94thDefinition & 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 ›Uninsured (under 65)
17%
in the top 7.6% nationally
Lower is healthier
ST91stUS92ndDefinition & source ›
The estimated share of adults aged 18–64 with no current health-insurance coverage.
Full methodology ›Dental provider access
0.86 per 1,000 residents
in the top 9.4% nationally
Higher is healthier
ST85thUS91stDefinition & source ›
The number of dental offices located 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 ›PFAS in drinking water
10.3%
in the bottom 9.9% nationally
Lower is healthier
ST16thUS10thDefinition & 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 ›Unemployment rate
9.8%
in the top 9.9% nationally
Lower is healthier
ST94thUS90thDefinition & source ›
The share of the civilian labor force that is unemployed.
Full methodology ›Hearing disability
10.6%
in the top 12.7% nationally
Lower is healthier
ST93rdUS87thDefinition & source ›
The estimated share of adults who are deaf or have serious difficulty hearing.
Full methodology ›The read
Walsenburg, Colorado (ZIP 81089), by its overall standing, sits in the bottom 40% nationally (19,233rd) and the bottom 17% of Colorado (415th), based on limited data; treat as directional.
The profile opens balanced, with readings on either hand: modeled air-toxics cancer risk sits in the bottom 2.8% nationally, and distance to a hazardous-chemical facility settles in the top 4.3% nationally. Distance to an emergency room registers at the national minimum, shared with about 11% of ZIPs. Grocery stands in the top 6.5% nationally, and elder services lands in the top 6.5% nationally. Dental providers is in the top 9.4% nationally, and modeled pfas resides in the bottom 9.9% nationally. By contrast, modeled mammography rests in the bottom 4.7% nationally, and uninsured lies in the top 7.6% nationally. Unemployment sits in the top 9.9% nationally.
Held up against its neighbors, park land runs far lower than the surrounding ZIPs on this measure. Defined in plain terms, air-toxics cancer risk is a modeled EPA estimate of added lifetime cancer risk from breathing outdoor air, per million people. 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. 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. The nearest ZIP ranking healthier overall is ZIP 81022, just across the boundary.
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
Risk Behavior
healthier than 80%
11%
Mental Health
healthier than 76%
8%
Climate / Disaster RiskPartial
healthier than 98%
5%
Healthcare Access
in the top 0.00%
5%
About typical
Environmental Hazard
healthier than 44%
14%
Holding it back
Chronic Disease Burden
healthier than 32%
21%
Social Need / SDOH
healthier than 11%
16%
Preventive Care
healthier than 16%
13%
Disability
healthier than 21%
7%
Lifting this score
Mental Health
healthier than 78%
8%
Climate / Disaster RiskPartial
healthier than 75%
5%
Healthcare Access
in the top 0.00%
5%
About typical
Environmental Hazard
healthier than 42%
14%
Risk Behavior
healthier than 41%
11%
Holding it back
Chronic Disease Burden
healthier than 6%
21%
Social Need / SDOH
healthier than 6%
16%
Preventive Care
healthier than 36%
13%
Disability
healthier than 3%
7%
“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
81020
Coloradoshares a border
Score 41.07
Closest healthier
81022
Coloradoshares a border
Score 49.84
Similar health profile
83847
Idaho97% similar profile
Score 47.53
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 | 33.0% | 29.2–36.8 |
| High blood pressure among adults | 38.1% | 33.5–42.6 |
| Cancer (non-skin) or melanoma among adults | 10.5% | 9.5–11.5 |
| Current asthma among adults | 11.1% | 9.8–12.5 |
| Coronary heart disease among adults | 9.3% | 8.3–10.3 |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease among adults | 8.9% | 7.8–10.1 |
| Depression among adults | 20.7% | 17.4–24.2 |
| Diagnosed diabetes among adults | 15.2% | 13.0–17.3 |
| High cholesterol among adults who have ever been screened | 40.5% | 35.7–45.2 |
| Obesity among adults | 29.1% | 21.8–36.9 |
| Stroke among adults | 4.8% | 4.3–5.2 |
| All teeth lost among adults aged >=65 years | 13.4% | 10.9–16.3 |
PreventionCDC PLACES 2022 / 2023 · BRFSS
| Measure | Crude prevalence | 95% CI |
|---|---|---|
| Current lack of health insurance among adults aged 18-64 years | 17.0% | 14.1–20.2 |
| Taking medicine to control high blood pressure among adults with high blood pressure | 77.8% | 74.3–80.9 |
| Visits to doctor for routine checkup within the past year among adults | 75.3% | 71.3–78.9 |
| Cholesterol screening among adults | 87.5% | 85.8–89.0 |
| Colorectal cancer screening among adults aged 45–75 years | 64.6% | 59.2–69.9 |
| Visited dentist or dental clinic in the past year among adults | 57.3% | 53.5–61.0 |
| Mammography use among women aged 50-74 years | 66.5% | 57.2–74.9 |
Health Risk BehaviorsCDC PLACES 2022 / 2023 · BRFSS
| Measure | Crude prevalence | 95% CI |
|---|---|---|
| Binge drinking among adults | 13.6% | 11.0–16.4 |
| Current cigarette smoking among adults | 14.4% | 12.3–16.7 |
| No leisure-time physical activity among adults | 26.5% | 21.9–31.3 |
| Short sleep duration among adults | 31.1% | 24.8–37.9 |
Health StatusCDC PLACES 2023 · BRFSS
| Measure | Crude prevalence | 95% CI |
|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor self-rated health status among adults | 24.5% | 21.4–27.8 |
| Frequent mental distress among adults | 15.5% | 13.6–17.5 |
| Frequent physical distress among adults | 17.1% | 15.0–19.3 |
DisabilityCDC PLACES 2023 · BRFSS
| Measure | Crude prevalence | 95% CI |
|---|---|---|
| Cognitive disability among adults | 16.0% | 14.1–18.1 |
| Any disability among adults | 37.5% | 32.7–42.5 |
| Hearing disability among adults | 10.6% | 9.4–11.8 |
| Independent living disability among adults | 9.5% | 8.4–10.7 |
| Mobility disability among adults | 18.8% | 16.3–21.4 |
| Self-care disability among adults | 5.4% | 4.8–6.0 |
| Vision disability among adults | 7.6% | 6.8–8.4 |
Community & economyCensus ACS 5-Year · 2024 release · observed
| Measure | Value | US median (p10–p90) | CO median (p10–p90) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poverty rate | 20.2% | 10.6% (3.1–25.8%) n=32,364 | 9.1% (2.3–21.1%) n=507 |
| Uninsured 18–64 | 4.8% | 9.0% (1.5–24.3%) n=32,286 | 9.9% (1.9–21.6%) n=503 |
| No HS diploma (25+) | 10.8% | 7.9% (1.8–20.7%) n=32,505 | 5.0% (0.0–16.3%) n=508 |
| Bachelor's or higher (25+) | 21.4% | 23.3% (9.2–53.6%) n=32,505 | 33.9% (14.8–65.1%) n=508 |
| Unemployment rate (16+) | 9.8% | 3.9% (0.0–9.8%) n=32,274 | 3.6% (0.0–7.7%) n=505 |
| Households without a vehicle | 3.0% | 3.9% (0.0–12.5%) n=32,322 | 2.9% (0.0–9.4%) n=507 |
| Broadband subscription | 78.5% | 89.3% (75.1–97.1%) n=32,322 | 92.5% (79.4–98.7%) n=507 |
| Housing cost burden (≥30% income) | 29.6% | 23.7% (10.6–40.0%) n=32,322 | 29.9% (15.9–42.9%) n=507 |
| Homeownership rate | 72.4% | 78.7% (51.7–94.0%) n=32,322 | 74.7% (51.5–93.8%) n=507 |
| Crowded housing (>1 per room) | 4.0% | 1.3% (0.0–6.3%) n=32,322 | 1.1% (0.0–5.3%) n=507 |
| Foreign-born population | 0.9% | 2.6% (0.0–18.6%) n=32,553 | 4.8% (0.0–14.6%) n=508 |
| Single-parent households | 54.7% | 53.6% (37.3–74.1%) n=32,087 | 54.4% (40.1–81.1%) n=500 |
| Population 65+ | 27.0% | 19.4% (10.8–33.6%) n=32,553 | 18.6% (9.2–36.4%) n=508 |
| Median age | 48.4 yr | 42.2 yr (33.0–56.3) n=32,292 | 41.0 yr (33.4–58.2) n=502 |
| Median household income | $52,280 | $72,070 ($46,039–$118,707) n=30,318 | $84,602 ($48,743–$134,919) n=470 |
| Median home value | $191,800 | $222,200 ($100,300–$579,820) n=30,049 | $458,400 ($191,360–$800,020) n=469 |
| Median gross rent | $878 | $1,021 ($677–$1,912) n=25,670 | $1,534 ($828–$2,196) n=401 |
Life expectancyNCHS / RWJF USALEEP · model-based
| Measure | Value | US median (p10–p90) | CO median (p10–p90) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy at birth | 81.4 yr ± 1.40 | 78.9 yr (74.7–82.8) n=31,308 | 80.4 yr (76.8–83.2) n=466 |
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 1.40 years of 81.4, 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