Health · Freedom

Freedom, WI health

Freedom differs from Wisconsin on 19 of 40 measures. It has more adults treating high blood pressure (82.2% vs 77.8%). Where it trails the state: more adults with COPD (10.8% vs 6.5%).

CDC PLACES 2025 · adults 18+ · ZIP code 54566 (all of Freedom)
TownTapestry Health GradeNew

Freedom’s Health Grade: A−

On seven CDC health estimates for adults, Freedom is healthier than 78% of U.S. towns and 86% of Wisconsin towns.

ASelf-rated healthA-Physical distressA-Mental distressB-ObesityADiabetesB+SmokingBExercise
All U.S. towns we grade (19,420)Healthier than 78%
Less healthyHealthier
Wisconsin towns we grade (877)Healthier than 86%
Towns with similar incomes, $91K–$152K (5,303)Healthier than 51%

Wealth explains part of the grade. Freedom is healthier than 78% of U.S. towns overall, but against towns with similar incomes its edge is smaller.

These are estimates. At the ends of CDC’s likely ranges, Freedom could be anywhere from B 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 Wisconsin 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 Freedom 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. Freedom’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 Freedom compares with Wisconsin

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 Freedom adults…

43 of every 100 Freedom adults have high blood pressure
Wisconsin: 33 in 100 · worse · margin 38.7–47.2%

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

Habits

Everyday habits, side by side with the state

Freedom, betterFreedom, worseToo close to callWisconsin
Get no exerciseshare of adults 34.8% Freedom
WI 26.6%
Sleep under 7 hoursshare of adults 34.6% Freedom
WI 32.6%
Binge drinkshare of adults 16% Freedom
WI 19%
Smoke cigarettesshare of adults 19.8% Freedom
WI 13.6%
0%10%20%30%40%
Care & screenings

Keeping up with care

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

79%
Yearly checkup
WI 78%
61%
Dentist visit
WI 67%
87%
Cholesterol check
WI 86%
67%
Colon screening
WI 69%
78%
Mammogram
WI 80%
82%
Taking BP meds
WI 78%
1 in 11
working-age adults has no health insurance
Freedom 8.8% · Wisconsin 1 in 13 (8%)
Mind & connection

How Freedom adults are doing

1 in 3Freedom adults feel lonely
31.3% · Wisconsin 30.6% · too close to call
1 in 4Freedom adults have been diagnosed with depression
24% · Wisconsin 23.2% · too close to call
1 in 5Freedom adults lack social or emotional support
21.2% · Wisconsin 20.2% · too close to call
1 in 6Freedom adults are in frequent mental distress
17% · Wisconsin 15.5% · 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
Freedom adults worry about having enough food
16.9% · WI 12.1% · worse
1 in 8
Freedom adults worry about keeping their housing
12.1% · WI 9.7% · worse
1 in 13
Freedom adults were threatened with a utility shut-off
7.6% · WI 5.5% · worse
1 in 11
Freedom adults lack reliable transportation
9.1% · WI 6.7% · worse

19.1% of Freedom adults receive SNAP (food stamps), compared with 12.5% across Wisconsin.

Disability

Living with a disability

38.8%

of Freedom adults live with a disability (Wisconsin 29.4%). Walking or climbing stairs is the most common.

Walking or climbing stairs20.6%
Thinking or memory15.5%
Hearing10.8%
Errands alone11.1%
Vision6.9%
Dressing or bathing5.5%

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

Around Freedom

Freedom and the towns around it

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

Nashville: 41.7% Wolf River: 37.9% Wabeno: 42.6% Laona: 42.2% Townsend: 42.2% Ainsworth: 36.3% Lincoln: 42.9% Langlade: 37.5% Crandon: 42.7% Schoepke: 35% Doty: 41.1% Evergreen: 36.9% Menominee: no data Blackwell: 41.2% Silver Cliff: 38.1% Lakewood: 42.3% Caswell: 40.4% Armstrong Creek: 42.4% Argonne: 40.1% Riverview: 42.1% Freedom: 43.2% Freedom Nashville Wolf River Wabeno Laona Townsend Langlade Hospital · Antigo · 28.6 miH Northlakes - Lakewood · Lakewood · 14.1 mi+ Bridge Community Health Clinic Antigo Dental · Antigo · 28.1 mi+
35%43.2%· darker is worse for health

Obesity

#20 of 20towns on this map, healthiest first
Wolf River37.9%
Nashville41.7%
Laona42.2%
Townsend42.2%
Wabeno42.6%
Freedom43.2%
6 places to get careNearest ER 28.6 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 Freedom

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

HNearest ERLanglade HospitalAntigo · 28.6 miDirections →
★Best rated nearbyAspirus Rhinelander Hospital★★★★★ · 33.2 miDirections →
+Low-cost careLakes Community Health Center, Inc theLakewood · 14.1 mi · sliding-scale feesDirections →
14.1 mi
Lakes Community Health Center, Inc the
2 sites · nearest in Lakewood
Sliding-scale fees
Directions to nearest
28.1 mi
Primary Connection Healthcare
3 sites · nearest in Antigo
Sliding-scale fees
Directions to nearest
28.6 mi
Langlade Hospital
Antigo · not rated
ERRural critical access
33.2 mi
Aspirus Rhinelander Hospital
Rhinelander · ★★★★★
ER
41.3 mi
Iron Mountain Mi VA Medical Center
Iron Mountain · not rated
VA
41.8 mi
Aspirus Eagle River Hospital
Eagle River · not rated
ERRural critical access
! Primary careFreedom's county is a federal shortage area for some residents.Low-income residents, Forest County · need score 17 of 25
! Dental careFreedom's county is a federal shortage area for some residents.Low-income residents, Forest County · need score 14 of 25
! Mental healthFreedom's county is a federal shortage area.Forest County · 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 Freedom. Shortage areas: HRSA Health Professional Shortage Areas (a “population” designation covers specific residents, such as those with low incomes).

All 40 measures for Freedom
MeasureFreedomMarginWisconsin
Chronic conditions
High blood pressure42.9%38.7–47.2%33.3%worse
High cholesterol41.3%36.8–45.6%34.4%worse
Obesity43.2%35.5–50.8%37.7%about the same
Arthritis35.2%31.5–38.9%26.6%worse
Depression24%20.5–27.6%23.2%about the same
Lost all teeth (65+)13.2%10.7–16.2%9.9%worse
Asthma11.9%10.6–13.3%10.8%about the same
Cancer (not skin)10.8%9.8–11.9%8.6%worse
Diabetes16.9%14.7–19.2%11.4%worse
COPD10.8%9.4–12.2%6.5%worse
Heart disease10.4%9.3–11.5%6.6%worse
Stroke5.3%4.8–5.8%3.4%worse
Habits
Smoke cigarettes19.8%17.1–22.8%13.6%worse
Binge drink16%13.2–19.1%19%about the same
Get no exercise34.8%29.8–40.1%26.6%worse
Sleep under 7 hours34.6%28.3–41.4%32.6%about the same
Care & screenings
Yearly checkup79.3%76–82.5%77.6%about the same
Dentist visit60.5%56.7–64.3%67.1%worse
Cholesterol check86.5%84.8–88.2%85.9%about the same
Colon screening67.3%62.1–72.3%69.4%about the same
Mammogram77.6%70.1–84%80.3%about the same
Taking BP meds82.2%79.6–84.6%77.8%better
No health insurance8.8%7.3–10.5%8%about the same
Mind & connection
Feel lonely31.3%26.5–36.4%30.6%about the same
Lack emotional support21.2%18–24.6%20.2%about the same
Frequent mental distress17%15.2–19.1%15.5%about the same
Fair or poor health25.2%22–28.6%17.8%worse
Frequent physical distress17.7%15.6–19.9%12.9%worse
Everyday needs
Food insecurity16.9%14.4–19.7%12.1%worse
Housing insecurity12.1%10.3–14%9.7%worse
Utility shut-off threat7.6%6.5–8.7%5.5%worse
No reliable transportation9.1%8–10.4%6.7%worse
Receive SNAP19.1%16.4–22%12.5%
Disability
Any disability38.8%34.3–43.6%29.4%
Walking or climbing stairs20.6%18–23.3%13.4%
Thinking or memory15.5%13.7–17.4%12.8%
Hearing10.8%9.7–12.1%6.9%
Vision6.9%6.2–7.7%4.5%
Dressing or bathing5.5%4.9–6.2%3.5%
Errands alone11.1%9.9–12.6%7.9%
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 Freedom door to door.
Close calls stay grayEvery figure has a margin of error. When the Wisconsin figure falls inside it, we don't call Freedom better or worse.
Why a ZIP codeCDC publishes towns like Freedom by ZIP code. We weight the ZIP codes that cover Freedom by how much of its land each one covers.

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