Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX Metro Area has a wide range of health services available to its residents. It is home to some of the nation's largest and most successful medical facilities, including Houston Methodist Hospital, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center, and Memorial Hermann Health System. These hospitals provide world-class medical care for a variety of illnesses and injuries. Additionally, the Metro area has dozens of local hospitals and medical facilities that provide healthcare to those who need it within their areas. The local hospitals offer comprehensive care including primary care physicians, specialists in all areas of medicine, mental health providers, physical therapists, rehabilitation programs and more. Through these providers patients can receive the care they need in order to stay healthy or manage an illness or injury with specialized treatment plans tailored to each individual’s needs and lifestyle.
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 170 physicians per 100,000 population in Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land Metro Area. The US average is 210 per 100,000 people.
Health Cost Index
The annual BestPlaces Health Cost Index for the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land Metro Area area is 94.2 (lower=better). The US average is 100.
94.2 / 100
Example: 110 = 10% more expensive than national average.
Water Qualtiy Index
The annual BestPlaces Water Quality Index for the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land Metro Area area is 51 (100=best). The US average is 55.
51 / 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 Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land Metro Area area is 89 (100=best). The US average is 87.
89 / 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 Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land Metro Area commutes 29.7 minutes one-way, which is longer than the US average of 26.4 minutes.
Air Quality Index
The annual BestPlaces Air Quality Index for the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land Metro Area area is 54 (100=best). The US average is 58.
54 / 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.