Health · Ottertail

Ottertail, MN health

Ottertail differs from Minnesota on 13 of 40 measures. It has fewer adults facing housing insecurity (6.6% vs 9.3%) and fewer adults facing food insecurity (8.2% vs 11.4%). Where it trails the state: more adults who have had cancer (11.8% vs 8.5%).

CDC PLACES 2025 · adults 18+ · CDC's estimate for Ottertail
TownTapestry Health GradeNew

Not graded

Health Grades cover towns with 1,000 or more residents. CDC's estimates for a place of 490 people are less certain, so we show Ottertail's figures without a grade.

Report card

How Ottertail 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 Ottertail adults…

33 of every 100 Ottertail adults have high blood pressure
Minnesota: 31 in 100 · too close to call · margin 29.2–37%

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

Habits

Everyday habits, side by side with the state

Ottertail, betterOttertail, worseToo close to callMinnesota
Get no exerciseshare of adults 22.7% Ottertail
MN 22.3%
Sleep under 7 hoursshare of adults 29.8% Ottertail
MN 29.2%
Binge drinkshare of adults 16.3% Ottertail
MN 17.8%
Smoke cigarettesshare of adults 13.4% Ottertail
MN 13.1%
0%10%20%30%40%
Care & screenings

Keeping up with care

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

78%
Yearly checkup
MN 75%
71%
Dentist visit
MN 68%
89%
Cholesterol check
MN 85%
77%
Colon screening
MN 69%
80%
Mammogram
MN 79%
82%
Taking BP meds
MN 76%
1 in 17
working-age adults has no health insurance
Ottertail 5.9% · Minnesota 1 in 13 (7.5%)
Mind & connection

How Ottertail adults are doing

1 in 3Ottertail adults feel lonely
28.6% · Minnesota 31.2% · too close to call
1 in 4Ottertail adults have been diagnosed with depression
22.3% · Minnesota 24.4% · too close to call
1 in 5Ottertail adults lack social or emotional support
18.8% · Minnesota 21.5% · too close to call
1 in 8Ottertail adults are in frequent mental distress
13.3% · 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 12
Ottertail adults worry about having enough food
8.2% · MN 11.4% · better
1 in 15
Ottertail adults worry about keeping their housing
6.6% · MN 9.3% · better
1 in 23
Ottertail adults were threatened with a utility shut-off
4.3% · MN 5.7% · better
1 in 19
Ottertail adults lack reliable transportation
5.2% · MN 7.1% · better

5.6% of Ottertail adults receive SNAP (food stamps), compared with 7.9% across Minnesota.

Disability

Living with a disability

27.3%

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

Walking or climbing stairs12.8%
Thinking or memory10.9%
Hearing8.4%
Errands alone6.5%
Vision3.7%
Dressing or bathing3.3%

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

Around Ottertail

Ottertail and the towns around it

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

Otter Tail: 33.7% Leaf Lake: 34.1% Rush Lake: 34.5% Girard: 33.5% Amor: 33.5% Deer Creek: 35.6% Henning: 34.2% Otto: 34.7% Ottertail: 33.3% Ottertail Otter Tail Leaf Lake
33.3%35.6%· darker is worse for health

Obesity

#1 of 9towns on this map, healthiest first
Ottertail33.3%
Otter Tail33.7%
Leaf Lake34.1%
6 places to get careNearest ER 11.1 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 Ottertail

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

HNearest ERPerham HealthPerham · 11.1 miDirections →
★Best rated nearbyEssentia Health St. Marys - Detroit Lakes★★★★★ · 29.5 miDirections →
+Low-cost careCommunity Health ServiceMoorhead · 63.6 mi · sliding-scale feesDirections →
11.1 mi
Perham Health
Perham · ★★★★★
ERRural critical access
19.8 mi
Astera Health
Wadena · ★★★★★
ERRural critical access
29.5 mi
Essentia Health St. Marys - Detroit Lakes
Detroit Lakes · ★★★★★
36.2 mi
Prairie Ridge Hospital and Health Services
Elbow Lake · not rated
ERRural critical access
63.6 mi
Community Health Service
3 sites · nearest in Moorhead
Sliding-scale fees
Directions to nearest
64.5 mi
Family Healthcare Center
4 sites · nearest in Moorhead
Sliding-scale fees
Directions to nearest
✓ Primary careOttertail is not a shortage area
! Dental careOttertail's county is a federal shortage area.Otter Tail County · need score 14 of 25
! Mental healthOttertail's county is a federal shortage area.Region 4 · need score 15 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 Ottertail. Shortage areas: HRSA Health Professional Shortage Areas (a “population” designation covers specific residents, such as those with low incomes).

All 40 measures for Ottertail
MeasureOttertailMarginMinnesota
Chronic conditions
High blood pressure33.2%29.2–37%31%about the same
High cholesterol40.2%36.4–44.1%33.4%worse
Obesity33.3%27.8–39%33.5%about the same
Arthritis29%25.5–32.4%22.3%worse
Depression22.3%19.1–25.8%24.4%about the same
Lost all teeth (65+)9.2%7.4–11.3%8.9%about the same
Asthma9.7%8.5–11%9.9%about the same
Cancer (not skin)11.8%10.6–13%8.5%worse
Diabetes11.7%9.7–13.7%10.1%about the same
COPD6.5%5.1–8%5.4%about the same
Heart disease7.6%6.5–8.8%5.9%worse
Stroke3.6%3.1–4.3%3.1%about the same
Habits
Smoke cigarettes13.4%10.3–16.8%13.1%about the same
Binge drink16.3%13.7–19%17.8%about the same
Get no exercise22.7%18.3–27.6%22.3%about the same
Sleep under 7 hours29.8%25.1–35.2%29.2%about the same
Care & screenings
Yearly checkup77.9%74.9–80.9%74.8%better
Dentist visit70.9%67.9–74%67.5%better
Cholesterol check89.3%87.6–90.9%85.3%better
Colon screening77.1%73.1–80.9%68.7%better
Mammogram80%73.5–85.6%78.5%about the same
Taking BP meds82.3%79.4–84.8%76.1%better
No health insurance5.9%4.5–7.8%7.5%about the same
Mind & connection
Feel lonely28.6%24.5–32.8%31.2%about the same
Lack emotional support18.8%15.8–22.1%21.5%about the same
Frequent mental distress13.3%11.4–15.4%15.1%about the same
Fair or poor health15.7%12.6–19.1%16%about the same
Frequent physical distress12.3%10.2–14.5%11.3%about the same
Everyday needs
Food insecurity8.2%6.2–10.5%11.4%better
Housing insecurity6.6%5.4–8.2%9.3%better
Utility shut-off threat4.3%3.6–5.2%5.7%better
No reliable transportation5.2%4.3–6.2%7.1%better
Receive SNAP5.6%4.2–7.5%7.9%
Disability
Any disability27.3%22.7–32%27.4%
Walking or climbing stairs12.8%10.3–15.5%11.4%
Thinking or memory10.9%9.2–12.9%12.8%
Hearing8.4%7.1–9.6%6.8%
Vision3.7%3.1–4.5%4%
Dressing or bathing3.3%2.7–3.9%3.1%
Errands alone6.5%5.4–7.8%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 Ottertail door to door.
Close calls stay grayEvery figure has a margin of error. When the Minnesota figure falls inside it, we don't call Ottertail better or worse.
CDC's own town estimateCDC publishes Ottertail 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01