County

Baltimore City, MD

FIPS: 24510 · 105,059 Medicare beneficiaries · Geographic Variation 2023

Overview

Key headline metrics for Medicare beneficiaries living in Baltimore City, MD. Source data from the CMS Medicare Fee-for-Service Geographic Variation Public Use File (2023) and CDC PLACES/SDOH.

Total Medicare Spending per Capita
$14,156
Actual Spending per Capita
$19,303
includes local geographic adjustments
Average HCC Risk Score
1.22
1.00 = nationally average. Higher = sicker panel.
Average Age
70.0
30-Day Readmission Rate
24.4%
MA Participation
36.4%
share enrolled in Medicare Advantage
Dual Eligible
36.0%
also enrolled in Medicaid — low-income marker

Beneficiary Profile

Who the Medicare population is in this county — counts, enrollment mix, age, and risk-adjusted complexity.

Total Medicare Beneficiaries
105,059
Fee-for-Service Beneficiaries
55,528
MA Participation Rate
36.4%
Average Age
70.0
Average HCC Risk Score
1.22
CMS Hierarchical Condition Category score. Higher means a sicker average beneficiary.
Dual Eligible (Medicare + Medicaid)
36.0%
Share of beneficiaries also enrolled in Medicaid — a marker of low income and complex need.

Demographic mix

Female
57.2%
Male
42.8%
White
32.4%
Black
62.0%
Hispanic
1.3%

Utilization

How often Medicare beneficiaries use each service. Rates are per 1,000 beneficiaries; the "users" column shows the share of beneficiaries who used the service at least once.

30-Day Readmission Rate
24.4%
Share of hospital discharges followed by an unplanned readmission within 30 days.
ER Visits per 1,000 Benes
822.4

Health Outcomes

CDC PLACES — modeled prevalence of health outcomes among county adults. Values are age-adjusted or crude prevalence estimates with 95% CIs.

High blood pressure among adults
40.6%
95% CI: 37.9% – 43.7%
Crude prevalence
Obesity among adults
38.8%
95% CI: 34.7% – 43.5%
Age-adjusted prevalence
High cholesterol among adults who have ever been screened
33.6%
95% CI: 30.8% – 36.6%
Age-adjusted prevalence
Arthritis among adults
25.8%
95% CI: 23.6% – 28.3%
Crude prevalence
Depression among adults
23.5%
95% CI: 21.0% – 26.4%
Crude prevalence
All teeth lost among adults aged >=65 years
14.7%
95% CI: 12.3% – 17.5%
Age-adjusted prevalence
Diagnosed diabetes among adults
13.7%
95% CI: 12.2% – 15.5%
Age-adjusted prevalence
Current asthma among adults
12.7%
95% CI: 11.4% – 14.2%
Crude prevalence
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease among adults
6.9%
95% CI: 5.9% – 8.1%
Age-adjusted prevalence
Cancer (non-skin) or melanoma among adults
5.9%
95% CI: 5.3% – 6.5%
Crude prevalence
Coronary heart disease among adults
5.9%
95% CI: 5.3% – 6.7%
Age-adjusted prevalence
Stroke among adults
4.4%
95% CI: 3.8% – 5.0%
Crude prevalence

Health Status

CDC PLACES — modeled prevalence of health status among county adults. Values are age-adjusted or crude prevalence estimates with 95% CIs.

Fair or poor self-rated health status among adults
23.0%
95% CI: 20.0% – 26.5%
Crude prevalence
Frequent mental distress among adults
18.6%
95% CI: 16.4% – 21.0%
Age-adjusted prevalence
Frequent physical distress among adults
13.8%
95% CI: 12.2% – 15.8%
Crude prevalence

Prevention

CDC PLACES — modeled prevalence of prevention among county adults. Values are age-adjusted or crude prevalence estimates with 95% CIs.

Cholesterol screening among adults
87.5%
95% CI: 85.5% – 89.3%
Crude prevalence
Mammography use among women aged 50-74 years
81.4%
95% CI: 77.0% – 85.4%
Age-adjusted prevalence
Visits to doctor for routine checkup within the past year among adults
80.4%
95% CI: 78.0% – 82.8%
Crude prevalence
Colorectal cancer screening among adults aged 45–75 years
63.1%
95% CI: 59.4% – 66.7%
Age-adjusted prevalence
Taking medicine to control high blood pressure among adults with high blood pressure
61.9%
95% CI: 58.5% – 65.6%
Age-adjusted prevalence
Visited dentist or dental clinic in the past year among adults
54.1%
95% CI: 51.2% – 57.0%
Crude prevalence
Current lack of health insurance among adults aged 18-64 years
10.1%
95% CI: 7.9% – 12.5%
Age-adjusted prevalence

Health Risk Behaviors

CDC PLACES — modeled prevalence of health risk behaviors among county adults. Values are age-adjusted or crude prevalence estimates with 95% CIs.

Short sleep duration among adults
42.1%
95% CI: 38.4% – 45.8%
Age-adjusted prevalence
No leisure-time physical activity among adults
27.2%
95% CI: 23.5% – 31.2%
Age-adjusted prevalence
Current cigarette smoking among adults
16.0%
95% CI: 13.3% – 19.2%
Age-adjusted prevalence
Binge drinking among adults
15.8%
95% CI: 13.7% – 18.1%
Age-adjusted prevalence

Disability

CDC PLACES — modeled prevalence of disability among county adults. Values are age-adjusted or crude prevalence estimates with 95% CIs.

Any disability among adults
33.5%
95% CI: 30.0% – 37.7%
Crude prevalence
Mobility disability among adults
16.5%
95% CI: 14.2% – 19.1%
Crude prevalence
Cognitive disability among adults
16.0%
95% CI: 13.8% – 18.3%
Crude prevalence
Independent living disability among adults
9.7%
95% CI: 8.3% – 11.2%
Crude prevalence
Vision disability among adults
6.6%
95% CI: 5.7% – 7.6%
Crude prevalence
Hearing disability among adults
5.0%
95% CI: 4.4% – 5.7%
Age-adjusted prevalence
Self-care disability among adults
4.9%
95% CI: 4.2% – 5.8%
Age-adjusted prevalence

Health-Related Social Needs

Community-level social and economic factors that drive health outcomes. Combines CDC PLACES health-related social-need measures (modeled from BRFSS) with CDC SDOH structural measures (from the American Community Survey).

Reported unmet needs (PLACES)

Loneliness among adults
40.6%
95% CI: 36.4% – 44.8%
Lack of social and emotional support among adults
28.6%
95% CI: 24.9% – 32.3%
Food insecurity in the past 12 months among adults
25.2%
95% CI: 20.7% – 30.0%
Received food stamps in the past 12 months among adults
24.4%
95% CI: 19.7% – 29.2%
Housing insecurity in the past 12 months among adults
21.4%
95% CI: 17.9% – 25.2%
Utility services shut-off threat in the past 12 months among adults
14.3%
95% CI: 12.0% – 16.6%
Lack of reliable transportation in the past 12 months among adults
12.7%
95% CI: 10.6% – 14.9%

Economic Stability

Below 150% Federal Poverty Level
30.0%
· MOE ±0.7
Share of county residents living below 150% of the federal poverty threshold.
Unemployment Rate
7.4%
· MOE ±0.4

Education & Connectivity

No High School Diploma (adults 25+)
13.7%
· MOE ±0.5
No Broadband Internet
20.4%
· MOE ±0.8
Share of households without a broadband internet subscription — a telehealth access barrier.

Housing

Housing Cost Burden
36.8%
· MOE ±0.9
Share of households paying more than 30% of income on housing.
Crowded Housing Units
1.9%
· MOE ±0.2
Single-Parent Households
9.1%
· MOE ±0.5

Demographics

Racial / Ethnic Minority Population
72.7%
· MOE ±0.3

All Data

Every labeled metric surfaced from Geographic Variation, PLACES, and SDOH, alongside the national county median for context.

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Source Metric Value National Median Pctl. Raw key
CDC PLACES All teeth lost among adults aged >=65 years 14.7% — TEETHLOST
CDC PLACES Any disability among adults 33.5% — DISABILITY
CDC PLACES Arthritis among adults 25.8% — ARTHRITIS
CDC PLACES Binge drinking among adults 15.8% — BINGE
CDC PLACES Cancer (non-skin) or melanoma among adults 5.9% — CANCER
CDC PLACES Cholesterol screening among adults 87.5% — CHOLSCREEN
CDC PLACES Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease among adults 6.9% — COPD
CDC PLACES Cognitive disability among adults 16.0% — COGNITION
CDC PLACES Colorectal cancer screening among adults aged 45–75 years 63.1% — COLON_SCREEN
CDC PLACES Coronary heart disease among adults 5.9% — CHD
CDC PLACES Current asthma among adults 12.7% — CASTHMA
CDC PLACES Current cigarette smoking among adults 16.0% — CSMOKING
CDC PLACES Current lack of health insurance among adults aged 18-64 years 10.1% — ACCESS2
CDC PLACES Depression among adults 23.5% — DEPRESSION
CDC PLACES Diagnosed diabetes among adults 13.7% — DIABETES
CDC PLACES Fair or poor self-rated health status among adults 23.0% — GHLTH
CDC PLACES Food insecurity in the past 12 months among adults 25.2% — FOODINSECU
CDC PLACES Frequent mental distress among adults 18.6% — MHLTH
CDC PLACES Frequent physical distress among adults 13.8% — PHLTH
CDC PLACES Hearing disability among adults 5.0% — HEARING
CDC PLACES High blood pressure among adults 40.6% — BPHIGH
CDC PLACES High cholesterol among adults who have ever been screened 33.6% — HIGHCHOL
CDC PLACES Housing insecurity in the past 12 months among adults 21.4% — HOUSINSECU
CDC PLACES Independent living disability among adults 9.7% — INDEPLIVE
CDC PLACES Lack of reliable transportation in the past 12 months among adults 12.7% — LACKTRPT
CDC PLACES Lack of social and emotional support among adults 28.6% — EMOTIONSPT
CDC PLACES Loneliness among adults 40.6% — LONELINESS
CDC PLACES Mammography use among women aged 50-74 years 81.4% — MAMMOUSE
CDC PLACES Mobility disability among adults 16.5% — MOBILITY
CDC PLACES No leisure-time physical activity among adults 27.2% — LPA
CDC PLACES Obesity among adults 38.8% — OBESITY
CDC PLACES Received food stamps in the past 12 months among adults 24.4% — FOODSTAMP
CDC PLACES Self-care disability among adults 4.9% — SELFCARE
CDC PLACES Short sleep duration among adults 42.1% — SLEEP
CDC PLACES Stroke among adults 4.4% — STROKE
CDC PLACES Taking medicine to control high blood pressure among adults with high blood pressure 61.9% — BPMED
CDC PLACES Utility services shut-off threat in the past 12 months among adults 14.3% — SHUTUTILITY
CDC PLACES Vision disability among adults 6.6% — VISION
CDC PLACES Visited dentist or dental clinic in the past year among adults 54.1% — DENTAL
CDC PLACES Visits to doctor for routine checkup within the past year among adults 80.4% — CHECKUP
CDC SDOH Below 150% FPL (%) 30.0% — POVERTY
CDC SDOH Crowded Housing (%) 1.9% — CROWDING
CDC SDOH Housing Cost Burden (%) 36.8% — HOUSING_BURDEN
CDC SDOH No Broadband (%) 20.4% — NO_BROADBAND
CDC SDOH No High School Diploma (%) 13.7% — NO_DIPLOMA
CDC SDOH Racial/Ethnic Minority (%) 72.7% — MINORITY
CDC SDOH Single-Parent Households (%) 9.1% — SINGLE_PARENT
CDC SDOH Unemployment (%) 7.4% — UNEMPLOYMENT
Geographic Variation Acute Hospital Readmission Rate (%) 24.4% — ACUTE_HOSP_READMSN_PCT
Geographic Variation Average Beneficiary Age 70.00 — BENE_AVG_AGE
Geographic Variation Average HCC Risk Score 1.22 — BENE_AVG_RISK_SCRE
Geographic Variation Black Beneficiaries (%) 62.0% — BENE_RACE_BLACK_PCT
Geographic Variation Dual Eligible Beneficiaries (%) 36.0% — BENE_DUAL_PCT
Geographic Variation ER Visits per 1,000 Beneficiaries 822.4 — ER_VISITS_PER_1000_BENES
Geographic Variation Female Beneficiaries (%) 57.2% — BENE_FEML_PCT
Geographic Variation FFS Beneficiary Count 55,528 — BENES_FFS_CNT
Geographic Variation Hispanic Beneficiaries (%) 1.3% — BENE_RACE_HSPNC_PCT
Geographic Variation Home Health Actual Per Capita Payment ($) $395 — HH_MDCR_PYMT_PC
Geographic Variation Home Health Standardized Per Capita Payment ($) $415 — HH_MDCR_STDZD_PYMT_PC
Geographic Variation Hospice Actual Per Capita Payment ($) $272 — HOSPC_MDCR_PYMT_PC
Geographic Variation Hospice Standardized Per Capita Payment ($) $281 — HOSPC_MDCR_STDZD_PYMT_PC
Geographic Variation Inpatient Actual Per Capita Payment ($) $8,299 — IP_MDCR_PYMT_PC
Geographic Variation Inpatient Standardized Per Capita Payment ($) $3,968 — IP_MDCR_STDZD_PYMT_PC
Geographic Variation Male Beneficiaries (%) 42.8% — BENE_MALE_PCT
Geographic Variation Medicare Advantage Participation Rate (%) 36.4% — MA_PRTCPTN_RATE
Geographic Variation Outpatient Actual Per Capita Payment ($) $3,900 — OP_MDCR_PYMT_PC
Geographic Variation Outpatient Standardized Per Capita Payment ($) $3,060 — OP_MDCR_STDZD_PYMT_PC
Geographic Variation SNF Actual Per Capita Payment ($) $1,216 — SNF_MDCR_PYMT_PC
Geographic Variation SNF Standardized Per Capita Payment ($) $1,301 — SNF_MDCR_STDZD_PYMT_PC
Geographic Variation Total Actual Per Capita Medicare Payment ($) $19,303 — TOT_MDCR_PYMT_PC
Geographic Variation Total Beneficiary Count 105,059 — BENES_TOTAL_CNT
Geographic Variation Total Standardized Per Capita Medicare Payment ($) $14,156 — TOT_MDCR_STDZD_PYMT_PC
Geographic Variation White Beneficiaries (%) 32.4% — BENE_RACE_WHT_PCT

Methodology

Primary source: Medicare Geographic Variation by County (dataset id geo-var-county, vintage 2023, downloaded 2026-04-13, 33,639 rows in source).

Additional data sources: CDC PLACES County-Level Data (2026), CDC SDOH Measures for County (2017-2021).

Percentile badges compare this county against all US counties that appear in the relevant dataset. "Lower is better" metrics (spending, readmission rates, chronic-disease prevalence, SDOH adversity) use an inverted color ramp — low percentile = green (good), high percentile = red (bad).

Medicare Geographic Variation shows standardized per-capita spending, utilization, and demographic characteristics for Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries at the county level. Standardized payments remove geographic payment adjustments so counties can be compared fairly. AHRQ Prevention Quality Indicators (PQIs) measure the rate of hospitalization for ambulatory-care-sensitive conditions (ACSCs).

Full methodology →