Health · Cotton

Cotton, MN health

Cotton differs from Minnesota on 14 of 40 measures. It has fewer adults facing housing insecurity (7.4% vs 9.3%) and more adults treating high blood pressure (82.6% vs 76.1%). Where it trails the state: more adults with heart disease (9% vs 5.9%).

CDC PLACES 2025 · adults 18+ · ZIP code 55724 (all of Cotton)
TownTapestry Health GradeNew

Not graded

Health Grades cover towns with 1,000 or more residents. CDC's estimates for a place of 356 people are less certain, so we show Cotton's figures without a grade.

Report card

How Cotton compares with Minnesota

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 Cotton adults…

38 of every 100 Cotton adults have high blood pressure
Minnesota: 31 in 100 · worse · margin 34.4–42.2%

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

Habits

Everyday habits, side by side with the state

Cotton, betterCotton, worseToo close to callMinnesota
Get no exerciseshare of adults 24.5% Cotton
MN 22.3%
Sleep under 7 hoursshare of adults 31.6% Cotton
MN 29.2%
Binge drinkshare of adults 16.6% Cotton
MN 17.8%
Smoke cigarettesshare of adults 15.5% Cotton
MN 13.1%
0%10%20%30%40%
Care & screenings

Keeping up with care

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

79%
Yearly checkup
MN 75%
68%
Dentist visit
MN 68%
89%
Cholesterol check
MN 85%
73%
Colon screening
MN 69%
78%
Mammogram
MN 79%
83%
Taking BP meds
MN 76%
1 in 16
working-age adults has no health insurance
Cotton 6.1% · Minnesota 1 in 13 (7.5%)
Mind & connection

How Cotton adults are doing

1 in 3Cotton adults feel lonely
30.2% · Minnesota 31.2% · too close to call
1 in 4Cotton adults have been diagnosed with depression
23.1% · Minnesota 24.4% · too close to call
1 in 5Cotton adults lack social or emotional support
20.5% · Minnesota 21.5% · too close to call
1 in 7Cotton adults are in frequent mental distress
14.3% · Minnesota 15.1% · 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 10
Cotton adults worry about having enough food
9.8% · MN 11.4% · about the same
1 in 14
Cotton adults worry about keeping their housing
7.4% · MN 9.3% · better
1 in 20
Cotton adults were threatened with a utility shut-off
4.9% · MN 5.7% · about the same
1 in 16
Cotton adults lack reliable transportation
6.3% · MN 7.1% · about the same

7.5% of Cotton adults receive SNAP (food stamps), compared with 7.9% across Minnesota.

Disability

Living with a disability

31.8%

of Cotton adults live with a disability (Minnesota 27.4%). Walking or climbing stairs is the most common.

Walking or climbing stairs15.5%
Thinking or memory11.9%
Hearing9.6%
Errands alone7.3%
Vision4.4%
Dressing or bathing3.8%

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

Around Cotton

Cotton and the towns around it

Pick a measure to shade the map. Darker is worse for health.

Kelsey: 36.3% Ellsburg: 36.3% Northland: 36.7% Toivola: 37% Meadowlands: 36.3% McDavitt: 36.8% New Independence: 36% Cotton: 36.3% Cotton Kelsey Ellsburg Northland
36%37%· darker is worse for health

Obesity

#2 of 8towns on this map, healthiest first
Cotton36.3%
Kelsey36.3%
Ellsburg36.3%
Northland36.7%
6 places to get careNearest ER 27.3 mi

Nearby towns are shaded from CDC's estimates for their ZIP codes, or CDC's own figure for cities and villages.

Getting care

Care in and near Cotton

No hospital or community health center in Cotton itself. These are the nearest.

HNearest ERCommunity Memorial HospitalCloquet · 27.3 miDirections →
★Best rated nearbyEssentia Health St. Mary's Medical Center★★★★★ · 28.3 miDirections →
+Low-cost careCook Area Health ServicesEveleth · 23.6 mi · sliding-scale feesDirections →
23.6 mi
Cook Area Health Services
3 sites · nearest in Eveleth
Sliding-scale fees
Directions to nearest
27.3 mi
Community Memorial Hospital
Cloquet · not rated
ERRural critical access
28.2 mi
Essentia Health Duluth
Duluth · not rated
28.2 mi
St. Lukes Hospital
Duluth · ★★★★★
ER
28.3 mi
Essentia Health St. Mary's Medical Center
Duluth · ★★★★★
ER
28.8 mi
Lake Superior Community Health Center
5 sites · nearest in Duluth
Sliding-scale fees
Directions to nearest
✓ Primary careCotton is not a shortage area
✓ Dental careCotton is not a shortage area
! Mental healthCotton's county is a federal shortage area for some residents.Low-income residents, Region 3 Arrowhead · need score 16 of 25

Hospitals: Medicare overall star ratings, 1–5. Community health centers charge on a sliding scale by income. Distances are straight-line from the center of Cotton. Shortage areas: HRSA Health Professional Shortage Areas (a “population” designation covers specific residents, such as those with low incomes).

All 40 measures for Cotton
MeasureCottonMarginMinnesota
Chronic conditions
High blood pressure38.3%34.4–42.2%31%worse
High cholesterol37.1%33.3–41%33.4%about the same
Obesity36.3%31.1–41.6%33.5%about the same
Arthritis30.8%27.4–34.4%22.3%worse
Depression23.1%20.1–26.5%24.4%about the same
Lost all teeth (65+)11.9%9.8–14.2%8.9%worse
Asthma10.1%8.8–11.5%9.9%about the same
Cancer (not skin)11.7%10.5–13.1%8.5%worse
Diabetes13.7%11.6–15.9%10.1%worse
COPD7.5%6.2–9%5.4%worse
Heart disease9%7.8–10.2%5.9%worse
Stroke4.2%3.7–4.9%3.1%worse
Habits
Smoke cigarettes15.5%12.4–18.8%13.1%about the same
Binge drink16.6%13.8–19.7%17.8%about the same
Get no exercise24.5%20.2–29%22.3%about the same
Sleep under 7 hours31.6%27.9–35.4%29.2%about the same
Care & screenings
Yearly checkup78.6%75.3–81.7%74.8%better
Dentist visit67.9%64.9–70.7%67.5%about the same
Cholesterol check89.3%87.6–90.9%85.3%better
Colon screening72.6%68.8–76.1%68.7%better
Mammogram78.3%72.6–83%78.5%about the same
Taking BP meds82.6%79.5–85.4%76.1%better
No health insurance6.1%4.8–7.8%7.5%about the same
Mind & connection
Feel lonely30.2%26.5–34.2%31.2%about the same
Lack emotional support20.5%17.5–23.8%21.5%about the same
Frequent mental distress14.3%12.4–16.4%15.1%about the same
Fair or poor health18.4%15.3–21.7%16%about the same
Frequent physical distress13.9%11.9–16.1%11.3%worse
Everyday needs
Food insecurity9.8%7.8–12%11.4%about the same
Housing insecurity7.4%6.1–8.9%9.3%better
Utility shut-off threat4.9%4.1–5.9%5.7%about the same
No reliable transportation6.3%5.4–7.4%7.1%about the same
Receive SNAP7.5%5.9–9.5%7.9%
Disability
Any disability31.8%27.5–36.2%27.4%
Walking or climbing stairs15.5%12.9–18.3%11.4%
Thinking or memory11.9%10.1–13.9%12.8%
Hearing9.6%8.4–11%6.8%
Vision4.4%3.8–5.2%4%
Dressing or bathing3.8%3.2–4.5%3.1%
Errands alone7.3%6.1–8.6%7%
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 Cotton door to door.
Close calls stay grayEvery figure has a margin of error. When the Minnesota figure falls inside it, we don't call Cotton better or worse.
Why a ZIP codeCDC publishes towns like Cotton by ZIP code. We weight the ZIP codes that cover Cotton by how much of its land each one covers.

CDC PLACES: Local Data for Better Health, 2025 release. The Minnesota 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01