Health · Forest

Forest, MI health

Forest differs from Michigan on 15 of 40 measures. It has more adults treating high blood pressure (81.3% vs 77.6%). Where it trails the state: more older adults who have lost all their teeth (17.2% vs 10.2%).

CDC PLACES 2025 · adults 18+ · ZIP code 49765 (all of Forest)

Report card

How Forest compares with Michigan

Each theme counts how many of its measures are better, worse or too close to call against the state. Tap one to jump to it.

Chronic conditions

Out of every 100 Forest adults…

43 of every 100 Forest adults have high blood pressure

Michigan: 37 in 100 · worse · margin 39.5–46.3%

Bars show Forest; the black tick is Michigan. Tap a condition to see it as people.

Habits

Everyday habits, side by side with the state

Forest, betterForest, worseToo close to callMichigan

Get no exerciseshare of adults 29.7% Forest
MI 24.9%

Sleep under 7 hoursshare of adults 34.4% Forest
MI 34.7%

Binge drinkshare of adults 14.2% Forest
MI 15.9%

Smoke cigarettesshare of adults 19% Forest
MI 14.6%

0%10%20%30%40%

Care & screenings

Keeping up with care

Share of Forest adults getting routine care. The full ring is 100%; the dark tick marks Michigan.

Yearly checkup

MI 80%

Dentist visit

MI 68%

Cholesterol check

MI 87%

Colon screening

MI 69%

Mammogram

MI 77%

Taking BP meds

MI 78%

1 in 14

working-age adults has no health insurance

Forest 7.3% · Michigan 1 in 14 (6.9%)

Mind & connection

How Forest adults are doing

1 in 3Forest adults feel lonely

31.4% · Michigan 32.4% · too close to call

1 in 4Forest adults have been diagnosed with depression

28.1% · Michigan 25.7% · too close to call

1 in 4Forest adults lack social or emotional support

22.5% · Michigan 23.1% · too close to call

1 in 5Forest adults are in frequent mental distress

18.4% · Michigan 17.6% · too close to call

Everyday needs

Making ends meet

Needs that shape health as much as any doctor visit: food, housing, utilities and a way to get around.

1 in 6

Forest adults worry about having enough food

16.6% · MI 15.4% · about the same

1 in 9

Forest adults worry about keeping their housing

11.3% · MI 11.9% · about the same

1 in 11

Forest adults were threatened with a utility shut-off

8.7% · MI 8.7% · about the same

1 in 12

Forest adults lack reliable transportation

8.6% · MI 8.3% · about the same

17.3% of Forest adults receive SNAP (food stamps), compared with 14.3% across Michigan.

Disability

Living with a disability

38.5%

of Forest adults live with a disability (Michigan 31.1%). Walking or climbing stairs is the most common.

Walking or climbing stairs19.6%

Thinking or memory16.5%

Hearing10.6%

Errands alone10.9%

Vision6.3%

Dressing or bathing5.2%

Black tick: Michigan. Shown without a better/worse judgment.

Around Forest

Forest and the towns around it

Pick a measure to shade the map. Darker is worse for health. Pins are the nearest hospitals and community health centers.

38.2%44%· darker is worse for health

Obesity

#13 of 20towns on this map, healthiest first

Montmorency39.2%

Waverly42%

Forest42.4%

Allis42.4%

Nunda43.4%

Walker44%

Care nearby

Munson Healthcare Otsego Memorial HospitalGaylord · 24.8 mi · ★★★★★

Mclaren Northern MichiganPetoskey · 32.2 mi · ★★★★★ · ER

Mymichigan Medical Center AlpenaAlpena · 44.8 mi · ★★★★★ · ER

Charlevoix Area HospitalCharlevoix · 45.2 mi · ER · rural critical access

Thunder Bay Community Health Service - OnawayOnaway · 5.7 mi · community health center, sliding-scale fees

Indian River Health CenterIndian River · 16.5 mi · community health center, sliding-scale fees

! Primary careForest's county is a federal shortage area for some residents.Low-income residents, Cheboygan County · need score 19 of 25

! Dental careForest's county is a federal shortage area for some residents.Low-income residents, Cheboygan County · need score 15 of 25

! Mental healthForest's county is a federal shortage area.North Country Catchment Area · need score 10 of 25

Shortage areas: HRSA Health Professional Shortage Areas (a “population” designation covers specific residents, such as those with low incomes). Hospitals: Medicare overall star ratings, 1–5. Distances are straight-line from the center of Forest. Nearby towns are shaded from CDC's estimates for their ZIP codes, or CDC's own figure for cities and villages.

All 40 measures for Forest

Measure	Forest	Margin	Michigan
Chronic conditions
High blood pressure	43%	39.5–46.3%	36.7%	worse
High cholesterol	40.7%	37.2–44.2%	35.4%	worse
Obesity	42.4%	35.8–48.8%	36.2%	about the same
Arthritis	37.8%	34.9–40.8%	29.1%	worse
Depression	28.1%	25.1–31.4%	25.7%	about the same
Lost all teeth (65+)	17.2%	14.8–20%	10.2%	worse
Asthma	12.1%	11–13.2%	11.5%	about the same
Cancer (not skin)	11.6%	10.7–12.5%	8.9%	worse
Diabetes	15.3%	13.7–17%	11.9%	worse
COPD	12.4%	11.2–13.7%	8.1%	worse
Heart disease	10.2%	9.3–11.1%	7%	worse
Stroke	5%	4.6–5.4%	3.7%	worse
Habits
Smoke cigarettes	19%	16.8–21.3%	14.6%	worse
Binge drink	14.2%	12.2–16.4%	15.9%	about the same
Get no exercise	29.7%	26–33.7%	24.9%	worse
Sleep under 7 hours	34.4%	29.6–40.1%	34.7%	about the same
Care & screenings
Yearly checkup	81.8%	79.4–84.2%	80.3%	about the same
Dentist visit	64.2%	61.3–67.1%	68%	worse
Cholesterol check	87.7%	86.3–88.9%	87.4%	about the same
Colon screening	67.8%	64–71.7%	69%	about the same
Mammogram	74.1%	68.3–79.9%	76.9%	about the same
Taking BP meds	81.3%	79.1–83.3%	77.6%	better
No health insurance	7.3%	6.2–8.6%	6.9%	about the same
Mind & connection
Feel lonely	31.4%	27.5–35.3%	32.4%	about the same
Lack emotional support	22.5%	19.7–25.2%	23.1%	about the same
Frequent mental distress	18.4%	16.7–20.1%	17.6%	about the same
Fair or poor health	24.3%	21.8–27%	19.4%	worse
Frequent physical distress	17.8%	16.2–19.6%	14%	worse
Everyday needs
Food insecurity	16.6%	14.5–18.7%	15.4%	about the same
Housing insecurity	11.3%	9.9–12.7%	11.9%	about the same
Utility shut-off threat	8.7%	7.7–9.8%	8.7%	about the same
No reliable transportation	8.6%	7.7–9.6%	8.3%	about the same
Receive SNAP	17.3%	15.1–19.6%	14.3%
Disability
Any disability	38.5%	34.8–42.3%	31.1%
Walking or climbing stairs	19.6%	17.6–21.7%	14%
Thinking or memory	16.5%	14.9–18.2%	14.3%
Hearing	10.6%	9.7–11.7%	7.3%
Vision	6.3%	5.8–6.9%	4.9%
Dressing or bathing	5.2%	4.8–5.7%	3.8%
Errands alone	10.9%	9.9–12.1%	8.6%

About these numbers

How CDC estimates town health

They're modeled estimatesCDC combines a large national health survey with each area's age, sex, race and income mix to estimate local rates. Nobody surveyed Forest door to door.

Close calls stay grayEvery figure has a margin of error. When the Michigan figure falls inside it, we don't call Forest better or worse.

Why a ZIP codeCDC publishes towns like Forest by ZIP code. We weight the ZIP codes that cover Forest by how much of its land each one covers.

CDC PLACES: Local Data for Better Health, 2025 release. The Michigan figure combines its counties, weighted by adult population.

Health estimates: CDC PLACES. Hospitals and star ratings: Medicare Care Compare (CMS). Health centers and shortage areas: HRSA. Town boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau.