Health · Sands

Sands, MI health

On every measure CDC estimates, Sands looks like Michigan as a whole: no difference is outside the margin of error.

CDC PLACES 2025 · adults 18+ · ZIP codes 49841, 49855, 49866

B-Health Grade

TownTapestry Health GradeNew

B⁻

Sands’s Health Grade: B−

On seven CDC health estimates for adults, Sands is healthier than 50% of U.S. towns and 63% of Michigan towns.

BSelf-rated healthB-Physical distressCMental distressC+ObesityBDiabetesB-SmokingB+Exercise

All U.S. towns we grade (19,420)Healthier than 50%

Less healthyHealthier

Michigan towns we grade (1,267)Healthier than 63%

Towns with similar incomes, $66K–$109K (9,384)Healthier than 40%

About what its income would suggest. Sands does about as well against towns with similar incomes as against all towns.

These are estimates. At the ends of CDC’s likely ranges, Sands could be anywhere from C− to A−.

How the Health Grade works

Seven CDC estimates. Adults in fair or poor health, frequent physical distress, frequent mental distress, obesity, diabetes, smoking and no exercise (CDC PLACES, 2025 release). On each one a town earns the share of U.S. towns doing worse, and those shares are averaged. It’s the same score as our Healthiest towns in Michigan ranking.
Graded on a national curve. Every U.S. town with 1,000+ residents and all seven estimates (19,420 places) is lined up by score: A+ top 5%A next 10%A- next 10%B B+ to B−, next 30%C C+ to C−, next 30%D D and D−, bottom 15%
Not adjusted for income. Wealthier towns are usually healthier, and the grade shows that as it is. The similar-incomes bar compares Sands with U.S. towns whose median household income is within 25% of its own.
Modeled, not measured. CDC combines national survey answers with each area’s age, sex, race and income mix. Sands’s figures come from the ZIP codes that cover it, weighted by land area. High blood pressure is left out because it tracks age more than anything else. The confidence line recomputes the grade with every estimate at the low, then the high, end of its range.

Report card

How Sands 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 Sands adults…

35 of every 100 Sands adults have high blood pressure

Michigan: 37 in 100 · too close to call · margin 31.5–39.1%

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

Habits

Everyday habits, side by side with the state

Sands, betterSands, worseToo close to callMichigan

Get no exerciseshare of adults 22.6% Sands
MI 24.9%

Sleep under 7 hoursshare of adults 31% Sands
MI 34.7%

Binge drinkshare of adults 17.6% Sands
MI 15.9%

Smoke cigarettesshare of adults 15% Sands
MI 14.6%

0%10%20%30%40%

Care & screenings

Keeping up with care

Share of Sands 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 16

working-age adults has no health insurance

Sands 6.4% · Michigan 1 in 14 (6.9%)

Mind & connection

How Sands adults are doing

1 in 3Sands adults feel lonely

30.9% · Michigan 32.4% · too close to call

1 in 4Sands adults have been diagnosed with depression

28.1% · Michigan 25.7% · too close to call

1 in 5Sands adults lack social or emotional support

21.4% · Michigan 23.1% · too close to call

1 in 5Sands adults are in frequent mental distress

18.5% · 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 7

Sands adults worry about having enough food

13.8% · MI 15.4% · about the same

1 in 10

Sands adults worry about keeping their housing

10.5% · MI 11.9% · about the same

1 in 12

Sands adults were threatened with a utility shut-off

8.1% · MI 8.7% · about the same

1 in 12

Sands adults lack reliable transportation

8.1% · MI 8.3% · about the same

13.5% of Sands adults receive SNAP (food stamps), compared with 14.3% across Michigan.

Disability

Living with a disability

31.8%

of Sands adults live with a disability (Michigan 31.1%). Thinking or memory is the most common.

Walking or climbing stairs13.3%

Thinking or memory15.3%

Hearing7.8%

Errands alone8.8%

Vision4.7%

Dressing or bathing3.7%

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

Around Sands

Sands 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.

35.3%39.7%· darker is worse for health

Obesity

#13 of 18towns on this map, healthiest first

Negaunee36.4%

Marquette36.9%

Marquette37%

Richmond37.1%

Chocolay37.1%

Sands38.2%

Forsyth39.3%

Care nearby

Uphs Marquette Dlp HospitalMarquette · 8.3 mi · ★★★★★ · ER Directions Medicare profile

Bell HospitalIshpeming · 12.8 mi · ER · rural critical access Directions Medicare profile

Munising Memorial HospitalMunising · 38.8 mi · ER · rural critical access Directions Medicare profile

Osf St. Francis Hospital and Medical GroupEscanaba · 49.6 mi · ★★★★★ · ER · rural critical access Directions Medicare profile

Sawyer Family Health CenterGwinn · 7.3 mi · community health center, sliding-scale fees Directions

Marquette Family Health CenterMarquette · 9.3 mi · community health center, sliding-scale fees Directions

✓ Primary careSands is not a shortage area

✓ Dental careSands is not a shortage area

✓ Mental healthSands is not a shortage area

Shortage areas: HRSA Health Professional Shortage Areas. Hospitals: Medicare overall star ratings, 1–5. Distances are straight-line from the center of Sands. 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 Sands

Measure	Sands	Margin	Michigan
Chronic conditions
High blood pressure	35.3%	31.5–39.1%	36.7%	about the same
High cholesterol	34.4%	30.4–38.3%	35.4%	about the same
Obesity	38.2%	31.2–45.2%	36.2%	about the same
Arthritis	29.1%	26–32.2%	29.1%	about the same
Depression	28.1%	24.3–32%	25.7%	about the same
Lost all teeth (65+)	11.4%	9.3–13.6%	10.2%	about the same
Asthma	11.8%	10.4–13.1%	11.5%	about the same
Cancer (not skin)	9.3%	8.4–10.1%	8.9%	about the same
Diabetes	11.2%	9.7–12.8%	11.9%	about the same
COPD	8.3%	7.5–9.3%	8.1%	about the same
Heart disease	7.1%	6.3–7.8%	7%	about the same
Stroke	3.5%	3.2–3.8%	3.7%	about the same
Habits
Smoke cigarettes	15%	13–17.3%	14.6%	about the same
Binge drink	17.6%	14.6–20.8%	15.9%	about the same
Get no exercise	22.6%	19–26.7%	24.9%	about the same
Sleep under 7 hours	31%	25.7–36.6%	34.7%	about the same
Care & screenings
Yearly checkup	80.3%	77–83.3%	80.3%	about the same
Dentist visit	66.3%	63–69.5%	68%	about the same
Cholesterol check	85.8%	84–87.6%	87.4%	about the same
Colon screening	70.4%	66–74.5%	69%	about the same
Mammogram	75.1%	68–81.2%	76.9%	about the same
Taking BP meds	76.7%	73.9–79.2%	77.6%	about the same
No health insurance	6.4%	5.3–7.5%	6.9%	about the same
Mind & connection
Feel lonely	30.9%	26.1–35.9%	32.4%	about the same
Lack emotional support	21.4%	18.2–24.8%	23.1%	about the same
Frequent mental distress	18.5%	16.4–20.6%	17.6%	about the same
Fair or poor health	18.4%	16.1–20.9%	19.4%	about the same
Frequent physical distress	14.2%	12.6–16%	14%	about the same
Everyday needs
Food insecurity	13.8%	11.7–16.1%	15.4%	about the same
Housing insecurity	10.5%	8.9–12.2%	11.9%	about the same
Utility shut-off threat	8.1%	7–9.3%	8.7%	about the same
No reliable transportation	8.1%	7.1–9.1%	8.3%	about the same
Receive SNAP	13.5%	11.5–15.6%	14.3%
Disability
Any disability	31.8%	27.9–36.1%	31.1%
Walking or climbing stairs	13.3%	11.7–15.1%	14%
Thinking or memory	15.3%	13.6–17.1%	14.3%
Hearing	7.8%	7–8.7%	7.3%
Vision	4.7%	4.3–5.2%	4.9%
Dressing or bathing	3.7%	3.3–4%	3.8%
Errands alone	8.8%	7.9–9.8%	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 Sands door to door.

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

Why a ZIP codeCDC publishes towns like Sands by ZIP code. We weight the ZIP codes that cover Sands 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.