Health · Deer River

Deer River, MN health

Deer River differs from Minnesota on 18 of 40 measures. It has more adults treating high blood pressure (80% vs 76.1%). Where it trails the state: more adults with heart disease (10.1% vs 5.9%).

CDC PLACES 2025 · adults 18+ · CDC's estimate for Deer River

Report card

How Deer River 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 Deer River adults…

40 of every 100 Deer River adults have high blood pressure

Minnesota: 31 in 100 · worse · margin 36.4–44%

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

Habits

Everyday habits, side by side with the state

Deer River, betterDeer River, worseToo close to callMinnesota

Get no exerciseshare of adults 30.5% Deer River
MN 22.3%

Sleep under 7 hoursshare of adults 29.2% Deer River
MN 29.2%

Binge drinkshare of adults 15.2% Deer River
MN 17.8%

Smoke cigarettesshare of adults 19.1% Deer River
MN 13.1%

0%10%20%30%40%

Care & screenings

Keeping up with care

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

Yearly checkup

MN 75%

Dentist visit

MN 68%

Cholesterol check

MN 85%

Colon screening

MN 69%

Mammogram

MN 79%

Taking BP meds

MN 76%

1 in 11

working-age adults has no health insurance

Deer River 9.4% · Minnesota 1 in 13 (7.5%)

Mind & connection

How Deer River adults are doing

1 in 3Deer River adults feel lonely

30.2% · Minnesota 31.2% · too close to call

1 in 4Deer River adults have been diagnosed with depression

24.6% · Minnesota 24.4% · too close to call

1 in 5Deer River adults lack social or emotional support

22.1% · Minnesota 21.5% · too close to call

1 in 6Deer River adults are in frequent mental distress

16.8% · 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 6

Deer River adults worry about having enough food

17.1% · MN 11.4% · worse

1 in 8

Deer River adults worry about keeping their housing

11.8% · MN 9.3% · worse

1 in 12

Deer River adults were threatened with a utility shut-off

8.1% · MN 5.7% · worse

1 in 10

Deer River adults lack reliable transportation

10% · MN 7.1% · worse

13.8% of Deer River adults receive SNAP (food stamps), compared with 7.9% across Minnesota.

Disability

Living with a disability

39.2%

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

Walking or climbing stairs18.9%

Thinking or memory16.2%

Hearing11.7%

Errands alone10.7%

Vision6.7%

Dressing or bathing5%

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

Around Deer River

Deer River 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.

37.8%38.7%· darker is worse for health

Obesity

#1 of 6towns on this map, healthiest first

Deer River37.8%

Deer River38.7%

Morse38.7%

Zemple38.7%

Care nearby

Essentia Health Deer RiverDeer River · 0.3 mi · ER · rural critical access Directions Medicare profile

Grand Itasca Clinic and HospitalGrand Rapids · 13.7 mi · ★★★★★ · ER Directions Medicare profile

Bigfork Valley HospitalBigfork · 29 mi · ER · rural critical access Directions Medicare profile

Cass Lake Indian Health Services HospitalCass Lake · 38.3 mi · ER · rural critical access Directions Medicare profile

Scenic Rivers Health ServicesBigfork · 28.8 mi · community health center, sliding-scale fees Directions

Scenic Rivers Health ServicesBigfork · 29 mi · community health center, sliding-scale fees Directions

✓ Primary careDeer River is not a shortage area

! Dental careDeer River's county is a federal shortage area.Itasca County · need score 12 of 25

! Mental healthDeer River's county is a federal shortage area for some residents.Low-income residents, Region 3 Arrowhead · need score 16 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 Deer River. 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 Deer River

Measure	Deer River	Margin	Minnesota
Chronic conditions
High blood pressure	40.2%	36.4–44%	31%	worse
High cholesterol	35.3%	31.6–39.2%	33.4%	about the same
Obesity	37.8%	31.6–44.2%	33.5%	about the same
Arthritis	30.3%	27–33.6%	22.3%	worse
Depression	24.6%	21.3–28%	24.4%	about the same
Lost all teeth (65+)	14.6%	12–17.5%	8.9%	worse
Asthma	10.9%	9.7–12.3%	9.9%	about the same
Cancer (not skin)	10.7%	9.6–11.9%	8.5%	worse
Diabetes	15.8%	13.5–18%	10.1%	worse
COPD	9.2%	7.6–11%	5.4%	worse
Heart disease	10.1%	8.6–11.5%	5.9%	worse
Stroke	5.1%	4.4–5.9%	3.1%	worse
Habits
Smoke cigarettes	19.1%	16–22.5%	13.1%	worse
Binge drink	15.2%	12.6–17.9%	17.8%	about the same
Get no exercise	30.5%	25.5–35.7%	22.3%	worse
Sleep under 7 hours	29.2%	24.3–34.4%	29.2%	about the same
Care & screenings
Yearly checkup	76.4%	72.9–79.6%	74.8%	about the same
Dentist visit	56.3%	52.8–59.9%	67.5%	worse
Cholesterol check	83.9%	81.7–86%	85.3%	about the same
Colon screening	68.4%	63.9–72.6%	68.7%	about the same
Mammogram	74.9%	67.9–81.3%	78.5%	about the same
Taking BP meds	80%	77.4–82.3%	76.1%	better
No health insurance	9.4%	7.4–11.8%	7.5%	about the same
Mind & connection
Feel lonely	30.2%	25.8–34.9%	31.2%	about the same
Lack emotional support	22.1%	18.8–25.6%	21.5%	about the same
Frequent mental distress	16.8%	14.8–19%	15.1%	about the same
Fair or poor health	23.3%	19.6–27.2%	16%	worse
Frequent physical distress	15.8%	13.6–18%	11.3%	worse
Everyday needs
Food insecurity	17.1%	14.2–20.3%	11.4%	worse
Housing insecurity	11.8%	10–13.9%	9.3%	worse
Utility shut-off threat	8.1%	6.9–9.3%	5.7%	worse
No reliable transportation	10%	8.7–11.5%	7.1%	worse
Receive SNAP	13.8%	11.4–16.6%	7.9%
Disability
Any disability	39.2%	34.2–44.2%	27.4%
Walking or climbing stairs	18.9%	15.9–21.9%	11.4%
Thinking or memory	16.2%	13.8–18.6%	12.8%
Hearing	11.7%	10.1–13.1%	6.8%
Vision	6.7%	5.6–7.7%	4%
Dressing or bathing	5%	4.2–5.9%	3.1%
Errands alone	10.7%	9–12.3%	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 Deer River door to door.

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

CDC's own town estimateCDC publishes Deer River directly, so these are its own figures.

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.