Columbia, MO is a great place to live with many excellent health resources. The city and surrounding areas have a variety of hospitals and medical facilities that provide quality care for residents. These include Boone Hospital Center, University of Missouri Hospital, and Ellis Fischel Cancer Center, among other institutions. The area also has numerous primary care clinics, urgent care centers, specialty practices, mental health providers, and dentists. All of these resources work together to ensure that the residents of Columbia receive the best possible healthcare they need. Additionally, there are plenty of preventive care options available in the form of nutrition classes, health screenings, and educational programs to help keep people healthy. Overall Columbia is a great place for residents to receive quality care from local healthcare professionals.
The health of a city has many different factors. It can refer to air quality, water quality, risk of getting respiratory disease or cancer. The people you live around can also affect your health as some places have lower or higher rates of physical activity, increased alcohol intake, smoking, obesity, and cancer rates.
Physicians per Capita
There are 430 physicians per 100,000 population in Columbia. The US average is 210 per 100,000 people.
Health Cost Index
The annual BestPlaces Health Cost Index for the Columbia area is 100.2 (lower=better). The US average is 100.
100.2 / 100
Example: 110 = 10% more expensive than national average.
Water Qualtiy Index
The annual BestPlaces Water Quality Index for the Columbia area is 60 (100=best). The US average is 55.
60 / 100
Note that this is a measure of Watershed quality, not the water that comes from your faucet. The EPA has stated that a healthy watershed is closely related to drinking water quality. The EPA has a complex method of measuring watershed quality using 15 indicators such as pH, chemicals, metals, and bacteria.
Superfund Index
The annual BestPlaces Superfund Index for the Columbia area is 98 (100=best). The US average is 87.
98 / 100
The EPA's Superfund program is responsible for cleaning up some of our nation's most contaminated land. Our index is based on the number of active Superfund sites (over 15,000 in the United States), with particular attention paid to those on the National Priorities List which pose the greatest health danger.
Quick Facts
Commuting can effect your health. The average person in Columbia commutes 16.5 minutes one-way, which is shorter than the US average of 26.4 minutes.
Air Quality Index
The annual BestPlaces Air Quality Index for the Columbia area is 55 (100=best). The US average is 58.
55 / 100
This is based on new measures of hazardous air pollutants from the EPA, called the National Air Toxics Assessment. This analysis models respiratory illness and cancer risk down to the zip code level, providing better detail and insight than the previous analysis based solely on results from air monitoring stations.