2025 Community Health Survey Key Findings

Acknowledgements

The Weld County Department of Public Health and Environment would like to thank the many stakeholders who provided ideas and guidance in one or more aspects of this year’s survey implementation process.

We would also like to express sincere gratitude to the following organizations for helping fund the survey incentive program, whose contributions were instrumental to the project’s success:

• Banner Health
• Intermountain Health
• North Range Behavioral Health
• Sunrise Community Health
• UCHealth

Finally, many thanks to the Weld County residents who completed the survey. Your contributions and experiences help promote health for all residents.

Authors/contributors to this report:

Carter Vogel, MPH
Maya Swanson, MPH
Raissa Huntley, MPH
Olivia Egen, MPH DrPH
Cindy Kronauge, MPH PhD

For comments, questions, and requests for additional information, please contact the Population Health and Data Analytics Team at: he-healthdata@weld.gov

Executive Summary

We are pleased to present the results of the 2025 Weld Community Health Survey, a comprehensive source of local-level data on the health and well-being of Weld County adult residents. The following is a brief summary of select findings from this report, presented here to highlight emerging or sustained trends in residents’ health, and findings not examined in previous iterations of the survey.

Many residents experience chronic health conditions.

In 2025, 1 in 10 (9.9%) residents reported a history of diabetes and an additional 14.6% have been told by a health care provider they are pre-diabetic. Three in ten residents (30.8%) have high cholesterol while 32.4% have high blood pressure. The percentage of residents reporting depression, anxiety, or other mental health problems sits at 30.3%. Additionally, 69.0% of residents are overweight or obese, a figure which has held steady since 2019. Rates of these chronic conditions, and others, vary by several demographic factors.

The uninsured rate decreased for Hispanic/Latino residents.

The percentage of Hispanic/Latino residents who did not have health insurance fell from 23.4% in 2022 to 13.4% in 2025. Countywide, the uninsured rate went from 7.9% in 2022 to 6.4% in 2025, though the change was not statistically significant. Following cost, Medicaid disenrollment was the second most-cited reason for not having health insurance.

More residents received preventive health care, apart from flu shots.

In 2025, 71.9% of residents said they had received a routine checkup within the past 12 months, up from 67.2% in 2022, while the percentage receiving blood cholesterol and blood sugar tests also increased modestly. Flu shots were an exception. Less than half (47.9%) of residents surveyed received a flu shot in 2025, down from 57.8% in 2022. Gains in preventive health care occurred mostly among residents 35 and older while rates among those aged 18-34 were similar or declined from rates seen in 2022.

Roadside waste and recycling options are residents’ top environmental health concerns.

Roughly 2 in 3 (65.6%) residents said they were moderately or very concerned about the improper disposal of waste on roadways (such as mattresses) and about 3 in 5 (61.2%) were concerned about having options for recycling materials such as electronics. Concern about roadside waste was higher in the rural areas of the county.

Rates of mental health conditions and need for care were comparable to 2022.

Thirty percent of residents reported depression, anxiety, or another mental health problem and more than 1 in 4 (26.3%) of residents thought they needed mental health care services in the past year, similar to 2022. The percentage of residents reporting fourteen or more days of poor mental health in the past month, known as “frequent mental distress”, decreased slightly from 15.2% in 2022 to 11.5% in 2025.  Likewise, the average number of poor mental health days in the past month declined from 5.2 days in 2022 to 4.3 days in 2025.

Social isolation and loneliness are associated with several indicators of poor physical and mental health.

More than 1 in 4 (27.2%) residents are lonely and 11.8% are considered socially isolated, meaning they rarely or never get the social and emotional support they need. Lower-income residents and those with less education experienced higher rates of loneliness and social isolation. Both loneliness and social isolation were reported at much higher rates among residents reporting physical or mental health issues. For instance, loneliness was reported by 71.4% of residents with frequent mental distress and 60.3% of residents with fair or poor self-rated health, while social isolation was reported by 32.7% of those with frequent mental distress and 31.1% of those with fair or poor self-rated health.

Use of smokeless tobacco has more than doubled.

About 1 in 6 residents reported using some form of tobacco, up slightly from 2022.  Use of smokeless products, like chewing tobacco and nicotine pouches (such as Zyn) has more than doubled since 2022 from 3.3% to 7.5%. Among young adults aged 18-34, use of smokeless products has nearly quadrupled from 3.4% to 12.4%.

Vaccine hesitancy appears to be on the rise.

The percentage of residents who expressed hesitancy about vaccines increased from 12.0% in 2022 to 17.8% in 2025. Looking at vaccine hesitancy by race and ethnicity, the largest increase occurred among the county’s Hispanic/Latino residents rising from 6.4% in 2022 to15.3% in 2025. Men and rural residents also expressed hesitancy at higher rates.

Residents are struggling with a range of affordability issues and young adults are hardest hit.

More than 1 in 3 residents are worried or stressed about being able to afford necessities like nutritious food (38.5%), rent/mortgage (32.7%), medical bill payments (35.4%), medical care (39.6%), and health insurance (46.5%.  Countywide, 42.7% of residents are housing cost burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their household income on housing costs, an increase from 32.8% in 2022. Over 1 in 6 (17.3%) residents reported needing food assistance (such as SNAP or food banks). High costs were also the primary reason residents cited for not having health insurance and delaying or going without health care or mental health care services.

At least half of young adults aged 18-34 are worried or stressed about affording food, rent/mortgage, and medical care and more than half are housing cost burdened. About 1 in 4 young adults reported needing food assistance.

More than 1 in 10 residents experienced discrimination in a health care setting.

Overall, 11.4% of residents reported some type of discrimination in a health care setting within the past year. Women and residents with lower incomes reported experiencing discrimination at higher rates than men and those with higher incomes. Delaying or going without needed health care was reported at a higher rate among those who had experienced discrimination (22.4%) compared to those who had not (6.6%).

Introduction and Methods

The Weld Community Health Survey is conducted every three years as part of the Weld County Department of Public Health and Environment’s (WCDPHE) continuous effort to understand residents’ health status and health-related behaviors, concerns, and service needs. These data are collected and shared to facilitate ongoing community dialogue about health issues and to help drive efforts to improve the health of Weld County residents. 

The 2025 Weld Community Health Survey is the seventh cycle of the Health Department’s community health assessment survey. Community partners provide input regarding community concerns and guide survey content and questions. WCDPHE, along with other governmental and nongovernmental organizations, uses the information to better inform local program activities, funding, and policy decisions. The survey itself covers a variety of health topics, including mental health, health care access and insurance, health conditions and behaviors, preventive screenings, environmental health issues, community concerns and needs, and health-related social and demographic factors of residents.

In 2025, letters, postcards, and/or paper copies of the survey with directions to take the survey online were mailed to about 20,000 randomly selected addresses in Weld County. An optional $5 reward card was offered to all participants who completed the survey. All responses were voluntary. No individually identifying information was collected and responses were kept confidential. This year’s survey was fielded during the spring months, from April through June.

The overall response rate was 14.6% in 2025, yielding 2,802 usable responses, an increase from an 11.0% response rate in 2022. Statistical adjustments for age, ethnicity, race, education, gender, number of children in the household, number of adults in the household, home ownership status, and household income have been made so that results presented in this report reflect the demographic makeup of adults in Weld County according to the most recent U.S. Census estimates. This year’s sample was stratified into six geographic regions (Figure 1). 

Note: A full methodology report can be requested by contacting the Population Health and Data Analytics Team at he-healthdata@weld.gov 

Over 90% of surveys completed were answered online. A total of 60 (2.1%) surveys were completed in Spanish, and 208 (7.4%) respondents were part of a household where a language other than English was spoken in the home. Table 1 describes the unweighted and weighted demographic distribution of those who responded to the survey.

A note on how race and ethnicity are presented in this report: Due to a small number of responses and small percentages of the overall Weld County population, some racial groups are combined in this report. Residents who identified as Alaska Native or American Indian, Asian, Black, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern or North African, or more than one race are grouped as “Non-Hispanic/Latino, any other race”. We acknowledge that combining these categories can mask important differences. Statewide data and reports may be more useful for understanding health outcomes and health disparities for smaller population groups. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s report, “Health Disparities and the Impacts of the Social Determinants of Health”, is one such resource.

A note on how household income and Federal Poverty Level categories are presented in this report: Throughout this report, 2024 Federal Poverty Level (FPL) categories are used to discuss health disparities between residents in different income groups. FPL categories provide a measure of economic hardship, standardized across different household sizes. Many public assistance programs, such as Medicaid and SNAP, use FPL categories to determine eligibility. Because they adjust for household size, FPL categories may enable more meaningful comparisons in health outcomes across households facing differing economic pressures. Both the 138% and 250% FPL thresholds are used throughout this report for different reasons. The 138% FPL threshold is used because residents who earn 138% FPL or less are eligible for Medicaid; as such, this is a defined service population for many of the community partners who use our data.  In some instances, we include results for the 250% FPL threshold to demonstrate how income relates to factors that affect health, even for residents well above federal poverty level. Table 2 presents the FPL categories discussed in this report along with the household incomes for a one-person and four-person household for reference.

Health Status and Conditions

Self-Rated Health

Nearly 9 in 10 Weld Residents reported their health as good, very good, or excellent.

The 2025 Community Health Survey asked residents to rate their personal health from poor to excellent. Nearly 9 in 10 (88.4%) Weld County adults described their health as good, very good, or excellent. Self-rated health varied significantly by race/ethnicity however. Hispanic/Latino residents reported fair or poor health at nearly twice the rate of White, non-Hispanic/Latino residents (17.7% vs. 8.5%, respectively).

Adults living in low-income households reported worse self-rated health on average than those in higher income households; 31.7% of residents with household incomes at or below 138% FPL reported fair or poor health compared to 8.3% of those with incomes above 138% FPL (Figure 2).

Residents were also asked how many days during the past 30 days their physical and mental health were not good. A higher average number of poor mental health days in the past month were reported compared to poor physical health days (4.3 days vs. 3.7 days). To assess the impact of poor mental and physical health on residents’ daily lives, they were also asked how often poor mental or physical health interrupted normal daily living. On average, residents reported 3.1 days in the past 30 days in which poor physical or mental health prevented them from performing their usual activities.

High Blood Pressure, Cholesterol, Diabetes, & Asthma

Half of Weld County adults reported being diagnosed with 2 or more chronic conditions.

High blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes are all factors that increase the risk for heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States. High blood pressure and diabetes also contribute to the risk of stroke, and people with diabetes are at higher risk for blindness, kidney failure, and loss of toes, feet, and legs. Asthma is a chronic disease that affects the airways in the lungs and can cause coughing, wheezing, and difficulty breathing, potentially leading to disruption of daily life, hospitalization, or death.

Residents were asked if they had ever been diagnosed by a doctor or health care provider with specific chronic conditions. Countywide, 32.4% of residents reported they had been diagnosed with high blood pressure, 30.8% with high cholesterol, and 16.0% with asthma.

Roughly 1 in 10 (9.9%) residents reported having been diagnosed with diabetes and 79.3% of those with the condition take medication to manage it.  The rate of diabetes was almost twice as high for Hispanic/Latino residents (14.0%) compared to White, non-Hispanic/Latino residents (7.9%) (Figure 3). The rate of diabetes among non-Hispanic/Latino residents of any other race (12.6%) did not differ significantly from other race/ethnicity groups.

Meanwhile, 14.6% of residents have been told they have a condition called pre-diabetes, meaning their blood sugar levels are elevated but not high enough to cause diabetes. While not everyone with this condition will go on to develop diabetes, the diagnosis can help residents, health educators, and health care professionals introduce lifestyle changes at a critical juncture for stopping or delaying the onset of diabetes.

While the rates of some chronic conditions have trended upwards since the survey began in 2007, year-to-year changes are not necessarily significant. The 2025 rates for the chronic conditions outlined in Figure 4 below are similar to 2022 rates. 

Medication Use

Roughly 104,000 residents rely on medication to manage health conditions.

The 2025 Community Health Survey asked residents if they currently used medications to treat any of the following: diabetes, high blood pressure, chronic pain, depression, anxiety, or other mental health conditions. Nearly 2 in 5 (38.8%) Weld County adults reported relying on one or more medications to manage a health condition (equating to approximately 104,000 residents). Nearly 1 in 7 (14.0%) reported using two or more medications (about 37,000 residents).

When examining medication use among residents experiencing certain health conditions, nearly 8 in 10 (79.3%) residents who have ever been told they have diabetes take medication to manage it. The majority of residents (69.3%) who have ever been told they had high blood pressure reported taking medication to manage their condition. Meanwhile, 61.7% of residents who reported currently having a mental health condition reported taking medication to manage their condition. 

Overweight and Obesity
Nearly 7 in 10 Weld residents are overweight or obese.

Being overweight or obese is associated with an increased risk of myriad health conditions including high blood pressure, stroke, coronary heart disease, and type 2 diabetes.

In Weld County, 69.0% of adults are either overweight or obese, representing 185,000 people. Weld County’s overweight/obese rate is significantly higher compared to Colorado’s statewide rate of 61.8% in 2024. While the combined rate of overweight/obese residents has remained steady over the past three survey cycles, the proportion of obese residents has gradually increased relative to the proportion of overweight residents (35.5% obese and 33.5% overweight in 2025).

Chronic Pain

About 1 in 3 residents with chronic pain reported using prescription pain medications.

Over 1 in 4 (26.7%) residents said they currently experienced chronic pain, similar to 2022. Roughly 1 in 3 (33.9%) residents with chronic pain reported using prescription pain medications, representing roughly 24,000 adults in Weld County.

Chronic pain was significantly higher among older residents aged 55+ (35.6%) and low-income residents. Four in ten (40.5%) residents with household incomes at or below 138% FPL and about 3 in 10 (31.9%) of those with household incomes at or below 250% FPL have chronic pain. 

Health Insurance and Use

Health Insurance

The uninsured rate remained similar to 2022, but more residents cited Medicaid disenrollment as a reason for not having insurance.

The countywide uninsured rate for adults decreased slightly from 7.9% in 2022 to 6.4% in 2025, but the change was not statistically significant (Figure 5). This means roughly 17,000 adults in Weld County have no source of health insurance. The uninsured rate for Hispanic/Latino residents declined from 23.4% in 2022 to 13.4% in 2025 and remained significantly higher than the uninsured rate for White, non-Hispanic/Latino residents (3.3%).

Residents whose household incomes are at or below 138% FPL fall within the income limit for Medicaid, but 15.9% of these residents reported not having health insurance in 2025. In comparison, the uninsured rate for those whose household incomes were above 138% FPL was 4.8%.

Among uninsured residents, 86.2% said the cost of health insurance was too high, making it the most frequently cited reason for not having health insurance. More than 2 in 5 (42.1%) uninsured residents reported they were disenrolled/dropped from Medicaid. In 2022, so few uninsured residents cited Medicaid disenrollment as a reason for being uninsured that the estimate was too low to report, while in 2025 it was the second-most frequently cited reason. Other reasons uninsured residents cited include loss of job or change in employers (29.2%), lack of insurance offered by their employer (28.8%),  no longer eligible for their insurance because of age or income (27.7%), did not need health insurance because they were in good health (22.2%), did not know how to get insurance (9.8%), and  did not have insurance because a family member’s job ended (7.1%), see Table 3.

More than half of adult residents (57.1%) reported having health insurance through an employer, 13.7% had Medicare as their primary source of insurance while 10.4% were enrolled in Medicaid (Figure 6).

Residents were asked if they had health insurance that covered at least part of the cost for prescription medications, dental, vision, and behavioral or mental health services. Countywide, 90.0% had some coverage for prescriptions, 80.8% had coverage for dental services, 74.2% had vision coverage, and 69.1% had coverage for behavioral or mental health services (Figure 7). Notably, nearly 1 in 5 (19.4%) did not know if they had insurance that included coverage for behavioral or mental health services.

A note on insurance cost worries: Nearly 1 in 2 (46.5%) Weld County adults reported they were always or usually worried about health insurance becoming too expensive. Residents with household incomes at or below 250% FPL were worried about health insurance becoming too expensive at a higher rate compared to those with incomes above 250% FPL (52.0% vs. 43.9%).

Regular Source of Care

Higher percentages of younger residents, lower-income residents, and male residents don’t have a regular source of health care.

Having a personal doctor is associated with improved health outcomes, higher use of preventive care, and lower overall health care costs. However, in Weld County over 1 in 5 (21.9%) residents said they did not have someone they thought of as their personal doctor or health care provider. The percentage of residents without a personal doctor or health care provider was significantly higher among young adults, lower-income residents, and males. Among young adults aged 18-34, 38.4% said they don’t have a personal provider compared to 23.1% of those aged 35-54 and 7.9% of those aged 55+.  One in three (33.3%) residents with household incomes at or below 138% FPL said they don’t have a personal provider compared to 1 in 5 (20.0%) with household incomes above 138% FPL. Meanwhile, 28.6% of male residents said they don’t have a personal provider compared to 15.6% of female residents.

Delayed Care

Nearly 1 in 3 Weld residents delayed or went without needed health care in the past year. Cost, appointment availability, and not being able to take time off work were the top reasons for delaying care.

In 2025, 30.6% of Weld County residents said that they delayed or went without needed health care in the past year. Half of residents who delayed needed health care cited cost as a reason (50.3%).

After cost, residents cited a lack of convenient or available appointments (37.5%) and not being able to take time off work (20.0%) as leading reasons for delaying or going without care (Table 4).

More uninsured residents reported delaying or going without care compared to those with health insurance (46.9% vs. 29.5%, respectively) (Figure 8).

Delaying and forgoing care also varied by age group with older age groups delaying care less; 43.6% of residents aged 18-34 delayed or went without needed health care compared to 31.1% of residents aged 35-54 and 19.8% of those aged 55+.

Emergency Room Visits

Nearly 1 in 3 Weld residents who visited the ER in the past year believed they could have been treated by a regular doctor if one had been available.

The 2025 Community Health Survey asked residents two questions about emergency department service use — how many times they visited an emergency room (ER) for care in the past 12 months and whether their last visit to the ER was for non-urgent care that could have been treated by a regular doctor.

Countywide, 22.9% of residents had an ER visit within the past 12 months. Among those who had visited the ER, roughly 1 in 3 (31.8%) believed they could have been treated by a regular doctor for their most recent visit if one had been available.

Telemedicine Utilization

A higher percentage of residents who had a behavioral health visit for their most recent telemedicine appointment said they would be likely to use telemedicine again compared to residents who had other types of visits.

The use of virtual health care appointments (speaking with a provider over the phone or via video call) expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic. Residents were asked if they had had a telemedicine appointment in the past 12 months, which service they received at their most recent telemedicine appointment, and how likely they were to use telemedicine in place of in-person care in the future. 

About 2 in 5 (40.5%) residents used telemedicine in the last year (similar to 39.2% in 2022).  Of those whose most recent visit was for behavioral or mental health care, 62.0% said they were either very or extremely likely to use telemedicine in place of in-person care in the future, compared to 36.1% of those whose most recent visit had been for a service other than behavioral or mental health care.

Preventive Care Behaviors

More Weld residents are receiving preventive health care compared to 2022.

Preventive care behaviors, such as yearly physicals, dental exams, blood cholesterol tests, and diabetes screenings, are important for detecting health conditions early in their onset when they may be more treatable.

Countywide, 71.9% of adults reported having a routine checkup within the past year, 66.1% had received a dental exam or teeth cleaning, 64.4% had received a blood cholesterol level screening, and 61.4% had received a diabetes screening (blood sugar test).  

Utilization of preventive health care varies, however. The increased rates of preventive care were not consistent across different age groups. Preventive health care use generally increased among residents aged 35 and older while changes in preventive care utilization for those aged 18-34 were mixed (Figure 9). For example, the percentage of residents aged 18-34 who received a dental exam or teeth cleaning decreased from 66.1% in 2022 to 53.2% in 2025 while increasing for residents aged 35-54 (from 57.9% in 2022 to 69.3% in 2025) and those aged 55+ (from 64.5% in 2022 to 72.6% in 2025).

A note on health care cost worries: Nearly 2 in 5 (39.6%) Weld County adults reported they were always or usually worried about affording needed medical care. A higher percentage of residents with household incomes at or below 138% FPL compared to those above 138% FPL were worried about health insurance becoming too expensive (56.2% vs. 36.9%, respectively).

Vaccine Attitudes and Flu Shots

More Weld residents are reporting hesitancy towards vaccines compared to 2022.

The 2025 Community Health Survey asked residents to rate their confidence in vaccines, including the importance of vaccines for their personal health, the importance of vaccines for the health of others in their community, and the effectiveness of vaccines. Countywide, 17.8% reported hesitancy towards vaccines, a significant increase from 12.0% in 2022. Vaccine hesitancy was higher among male residents (23.0%) compared to female residents (13.0%). In 2022, vaccine hesitancy was significantly lower in Hispanic/Latino residents compared to White, non-Hispanic/Latino residents; however, there was no longer a difference between the two groups in 2025 as hesitancy among Hispanic/Latino residents rose from 6.4% in 2022 to 15.3%, though the observed increase was not statistically significant. Of note, a higher percentage of residents who did not have someone they think of as their personal doctor or health care provider were vaccine hesitant compared to those with a personal doctor or health care provider (23.9% vs. 16.2%).

Residents were also asked if they received a seasonal flu shot. Countywide, 47.9% of adults said they had received a flu shot during the previous flu season (October 2024 – May 2025), which decreased significantly from 57.8% in 2022. A significantly higher percentage of insured residents received a flu shot (50.0%), compared to those without health insurance (15.6%).

Discrimination in a Health Care Setting

Over 1 in 10 residents reported experiencing discrimination in a health care setting, with weight being the leading reason reported for discrimination.

The 2025 Community Health Survey included a new question in which residents were asked if they felt that a health care provider judged them unfairly or discriminated against them within the past year due to their race/ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, weight, a health condition or disability. Over 1 in 10 (11.4%) residents reported experiencing discrimination of some type in a health care setting in the past year.

There was a significant association between experiencing discrimination in a health care setting and being lower income or female. A higher percentage of residents with household incomes at or below 138% FPL reported experiencing discrimination in a health care setting compared to those above 138% FPL (19.1% vs. 10.2%, respectively). Female residents reported experiencing discrimination at roughly twice the rate of males (15.0% vs. 7.4%). Additionally, 59.6% of those who experienced discrimination in a health care setting also reported delaying or going without needed care, compared to 26.6% of those who did not experience discrimination.

The most frequently cited reasons for discrimination were weight (56.7%), age (44.1%), and a health condition (41.0%) (Table 5, note that residents could select multiple types of discrimination).

Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors

Fruit and Vegetable Consumption

Most Weld residents are not meeting the recommended daily amounts for fruit and vegetable consumption.

The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend a healthy dietary pattern across all stages of life, which includes a nutrient-dense diet with fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats. A diet that includes fruits and vegetables is protective against the risk of heart disease and certain cancers. The recommended servings of fruits and vegetables per day vary by age group and the number of calories a person consumes per day; however, most recommendations include two or more servings of fruit and three or more servings of vegetables per day.

Only 1 in 6 (18.9%) adults reported meeting national recommendations for fruit and vegetable consumption in 2025. While most residents did not meet recommendations, 91.9% reported eating at least one serving of vegetables per day and 83.3% reported eating at least one serving of fruit per day.

A note on food insecurity: Over 1 in 6 (17.3%) residents reported needing food or meal assistance and over 1 in 3 (38.5%) said they were sometimes, usually, or always worried about having enough money to buy nutritious meals. 

Physical Activity

Most residents reported engaging in physical activity outside of their job, but a smaller percentage of low-income residents were physically active.

More than 3 in 4 (79.5%) residents said that they engaged in physical activity outside of their regular jobs in the past month. Participation in physical activity varied by household income, however. When asked how many days in the past week they were physically active, 32.0% of residents with household incomes at or below 138% FPL said "none", compared to 17.1% of those with household incomes above 138% FPL (Figure 10).

Sleep

Over 1 in 4 Weld residents reported not getting the recommended amount of sleep per day on average.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that adults aged 18 and older get a minimum of 7 hours of sleep per day. Getting an adequate amount of sleep can be important in lowering stress, maintaining a healthy weight, and lowering the risk of getting sick or developing chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension.

Countywide, 71.5% reported getting the recommended amount of sleep (at least 7 hours) in a 24-hour period. Males and residents with a current mental health condition reported inadequate sleep at higher rates (31.4% for males vs. 25.9% for females and 35.5% for those with a mental health condition versus 25.4% for those without one).

Social and Emotional Wellbeing

Current Behavioral or Mental Health Conditions

Roughly 3 in 10 residents currently experience a mental health condition.

Mental health refers to emotional, psychological, and social well-being, and can affect an individual’s ability to manage stress, stay connected to others, and maintain their physical health. The term behavioral health can refer to a specific subset of issues such as eating disorders or substance use disorders, or it can be used as an umbrella term that includes mental health as well as behavioral health concerns. Countywide, 30.3% of adults said they currently had depression, anxiety, or some other behavioral or mental health condition, which is similar to 28.1% in 2022.

Behavioral or mental health conditions were more prevalent in younger residents aged 18-34 (37.0%) compared to residents aged 55+ (24.3%). Behavioral or mental health conditions were also more prevalent in residents with household incomes at or below 138% FPL (39.3%) compared to those above 138% FPL (28.8%). Female residents reported current behavioral or mental health conditions at a significantly higher rate compared to male residents (38.7% vs. 21.1%, respectively) (Figure 11).

Frequent Mental Distress

Over 1 in 10 Weld residents reported experiencing frequent mental distress.

Residents were considered to have experienced frequent mental distress if they reported 14 or more poor mental health days in the past month, a status reported by 11.5% of residents.

Young adults experienced frequent mental distress in higher numbers than other age groups. Frequent mental distress was significantly higher for residents aged 18-34 compared to those aged 55+ (16.9% vs. 8.6%, respectively) (Figure 12).

Frequent mental distress also varied by household income; a higher percentage of those with incomes at or below 138% FPL (22.1%) reported frequent mental distress compared to those above 138% FPL (9.9%).

Accessing Behavioral or Mental Health Care

Over 1 in 4 Weld residents reported needing behavioral or mental health care in the past 12 months, and nearly 2 in 3 who needed care sought treatment.

Countywide, 26.3% of Weld County adults reported thinking they needed behavioral or mental health care or counseling in the past 12 months, similar to 28.8% in 2022. The need for care varied by age, with 39.1% of residents aged 18-34 needing mental health services compared to 29.4% of residents aged 35-54 and 12.6% of residents aged 55+. Additionally, a significantly higher percentage of female residents (31.4%) reported needing behavioral or mental health care compared to male residents (20.8%).

63.4% percent of those who thought they needed behavioral or mental health care or counseling in the past 12 months sought treatment.

Residents who said they needed but did not seek behavioral or mental health care or counseling were asked about different barriers that might explain why they did not get treatment. The leading reason cited for not getting behavioral or mental health care was cost (50.3%), followed by not having time to seek treatment (48.3%), having health insurance that does not cover or pay enough for mental health treatment or counseling (44.2%), and not knowing where to go for services (43.8%).

Additionally, 30.3% said they had difficulty getting an appointment, 16.7% were concerned that seeking treatment would cause others to have a negative opinion of them, and 13.7% worried that seeking treatment would have a negative impact on their job (Figure 13).

Social Connection and Loneliness

Over 1 in 9 Weld residents reported experiencing social isolation and over 1 in 4 reported experiencing loneliness.

A new set of questions added to the 2025 Community Health Survey addressed residents’ experiences with social isolation and loneliness. To assess social connection, residents were asked how often they get the social and emotional support they need on a scale of ‘never’ to ‘always’, and residents who responded with ‘rarely’ or ‘never’ were classified as experiencing social isolation. To assess loneliness, residents were asked three questions from the UCLA 3-Item Loneliness Scale (Russell, 1996) about how often they feel they lack companionship, feel left out, and feel isolated from others.

Countywide, 11.8% of residents reported that they experienced social isolation. Social isolation differed by income, gender and race/ethnicity.

Nearly 1 in 4 (23.8%) residents with household incomes at or below 138% FPL reported experiencing social isolation compared to 9.8% of those above 138% FPL. Male residents reported experiencing social isolation at a higher rate (14.1%) compared to female residents (9.7%). Meanwhile, 20.4% of Hispanic/Latino residents reported experiencing social isolation compared to 8.2% of White, non-Hispanic/Latino residents.

Countywide, 27.2% of residents reported experiencing loneliness. Loneliness was significantly higher for younger residents; more than 1 in 3 (37.3%) of residents aged 18-34 reported experiencing loneliness compared to 1 in 4 (25.2%) residents aged 35-54 and roughly 1 in 5 (21.4%) residents aged 55+.

Rates of social isolation and loneliness were higher for residents with physical and mental health issues. Loneliness was reported by 71.4% of residents with frequent mental distress and 60.3% of residents with fair or poor self-rated health, while social isolation was reported by 32.7% of those with frequent mental distress and 31.1% of those with fair or poor self-rated health.

Resiliency

Low-income residents reported less stress resistance and more difficulty in bouncing back from things going wrong in their lives.

According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, community resiliency describes the ability to cope with adversity and is an important piece of overall health as well as disaster preparedness (National Preparedness and Response Science Board, 2014. Community Health Resilience Recommendations). Residents were asked two questions to assess resiliency in the 2025 Community Health Survey: How difficult they found it to deal with unexpected problems in life, and how much they agreed that it takes a long time to bounce back when things go wrong in their lives.

Generally, residents said they found it easy to deal with unexpected problems and disagreed that when things go wrong in their lives it takes a long time to get back to normal.

On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 represents ‘extremely difficult’ and 10 represents ‘extremely easy’, residents reported an average stress-resistance score of 7.1 out of 10 when asked how difficult they found it to deal with unexpected problems.

The average stress-resistance score differed significantly by income; 6.3 for those with household incomes at or below 138% FPL compared to 7.2 for those above 138% FPL.  

Weld County residents’ ability to ‘bounce back’ from things that go wrong in their lives was assessed in a question asking how much they agreed with the statement, "When things go wrong in my life, it generally takes me a long time to get back to normal." Residents indicated general disagreement with the statement, with an average ‘bounce back’ score of 3.6 out of 5 (where a score of 5 indicates more ability to ‘bounce back’).

Residents in the Greeley/Evans region of the county had a significantly lower average bounce back score of 3.3 compared to residents in all other regions of the county. Those with household incomes at or below 138% FPL had a significantly lower average bounce back score of 3.0 compared to those above 138% FPL at 3.7. 

Risky Lifestyle Behaviors

Alcohol

Nearly 1 in 2 Weld residents reported consuming alcohol in the past 30 days, and, among those who consume alcohol, over 1 in 5 reported binge drinking.

Self-reported alcohol use was similar to 2022; nearly half of adult residents (48.2%) reported consuming alcohol within the past 30 days, compared to 50.8% in 2022.

Residents were also asked how many times, if at all, they binge drank in the past 30 days, which is defined as four or more drinks for women and five or more drinks for men in a single sitting. Countywide, 21.5% of residents reported binge-drinking at least once in the past 30 days, significantly higher than the statewide binge-drinking rate of 17.6% (2024 Colorado Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System). Among residents who drink alcohol, nearly 1 in 2 (45.4%) report at least one episode of binge-drinking in the past 30 days. A higher percentage of residents aged 18-34 (50.8%) and 35-54 (50.4%) who drink alcohol reported binge drinking compared to those aged 55+ (35.7%).

A higher percentage of male residents (51.4%) who drink alcohol reported binge drinking in the past 30 days compared to female residents (38.6%). Although residents with incomes at or below 138% FPL drink alcohol at a lower rate, those who do drink alcohol binge drink at a higher rate compared to residents above 138% FPL (70.5% vs. 43.3%). Over 1 in 5 (22.7%) residents who drink alcohol reported three or more binge-drinking episodes in the past 30 days (Figure 14).

Tobacco

The percentage of Weld residents who use smokeless tobacco products nearly doubled compared to 2022 (7.5% vs. 3.3%).

Tobacco use is a leading cause of preventable death in the US and is associated with an increased risk of developing certain cancers, heart disease, COPD, and diabetes.

Countywide, about 1 in 6 (16.6%) Weld County adults reported using some form of tobacco product (including e-cigarettes) at least some days in the past 30 days in 2025. Traditional cigarette use was reported by 6.7% of residents, while 5.3% reported using e-cigarettes (electronic vaping products that contain nicotine).

Younger residents reported using some form of tobacco product (including e-cigarettes) at least some days in the past 30 days at higher rates than older residents aged 55+ (23.9% of residents aged 18-34, 17.3% of residents aged 35-54, and 10.0% of residents aged 55+). Tobacco use was also higher for male residents compared to female residents (21.8% vs. 11.7%, respectively).

The use of smokeless tobacco products (including chew/spit tobacco and products like Snus or ZYN) increased significantly compared to 2022, with 7.5% of adult residents in 2025 reporting using smokeless tobacco products at least some days in the past 30 days, compared to 3.3% in 2022 (Figure 15). Among younger residents aged 18-34, smokeless tobacco product use nearly quadrupled from 3.4% in 2022 to 12.4% in 2025. Tobacco product use, other than smokeless tobacco products, did not change significantly from 2022 to 2025.

Marijuana

A lower percentage of Weld County adults used marijuana compared to Colorado as a whole.

Countywide, about 1 in 7 (13.8%) adults reported using marijuana at least some days in the past 30 days (either medicinal or recreational), similar to 2022. Residents were asked about both recreational and medical use; 3.5% use both recreational and medical marijuana, 7.9% use recreational marijuana only, and 2.4% use medical marijuana only. Statewide, 20.4% of Colorado adults used marijuana in the past 30 days, according to the 2024 Colorado Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey.  

Driving Behaviors

One in five adults text while driving.

The 2025 Community Health Survey asked residents how frequently they wore their seatbelts and how often they drove while distracted or impaired. Countywide, 93.1% of drivers reported always wearing their seatbelts, similar to 92.3% in 2022 (Figure 16). Seatbelt use did vary by gender, with 2.2% of males reporting that they never or rarely use seatbelts compared to 0.8% of females.

Relatively few (4.7%) adult drivers drove within an hour of drinking alcohol at least sometimes while only 2.2% reported driving within two to three hours of using marijuana at least sometimes.

However, nearly half (45.4%) of adult drivers in 2025 reported talking on the phone while driving, at least sometimes. Over 1 in 5 (21.0%) drivers reported reading or sending texts or emails while driving at least sometimes. Distracted driving behaviors were significantly higher in younger residents aged 18-34 and 35-54 compared to those aged 55+.

Health and Housing

Housing Instability

One in ten Weld residents experience unstable housing.

On the 2025 Community Health Survey, residents were asked two questions about housing stability: whether they had experienced an unstable housing situation in the past two months, and if they were worried or concerned that they would be in an unstable housing situation in the next two months. Countywide, 10.0% of adult residents reported an unstable housing situation, similar to 9.5% in 2022.

Place matters when it comes to housing instability; rates vary both by region of the county and by the types of housing residents occupy. In the Greeley/Evans region, 16.6% reported unstable housing, more than twice the rate in the county’s rural areas (8.1%) and urban corridor (6.1%). Residents living in multi-unit buildings reported unstable housing at four times the rate of those who live in single-family homes (25.3% vs. 6.4%).

Unstable housing also varied significantly by income and by race/ethnicity. Nearly 1 in 5 (18.6%) residents with household incomes at or below 250% FPL reported an unstable housing situation compared to 6.0% of those above 250% FPL. Hispanic/Latino residents reported unstable housing at more than twice the rate (16.0%) of White, non-Hispanic/Latino residents (7.6%).

Double-Up Housing

About 1 in 7 Weld residents reported that more than one family lives in their home; financial hardship was the leading reason for providing temporary housing to someone else.

Countywide, 14.4% of residents said that more than one family currently lived in their home, a situation referred to as “doubled-up housing”.

Doubled-up housing was reported by a significantly higher percentage of Hispanic/Latino residents (20.8%) compared to White, non-Hispanic/Latino residents (12.1%). Low-income was also associated with doubling up; residents with household incomes at or below 138% FPL were doubled-up at more than twice the rate of those whose incomes were higher than 138% FPL (26.4% vs. 12.4%) (Figure 17).

A note on temporary housing: Residents were also asked if they provided temporary housing to family, friends, or other non-relatives at any point during the past year. Roughly 1 in 6 (17.7%) residents provided someone with temporary housing, similar to 2022. Of those who reported providing temporary housing to another person, 70.2% did so because of financial hardship, 54.7% because of loss of housing, and 32.8% because of a health problem.

Housing Cost Burden

Over 2 in 5 Weld residents reported being housing cost burdened, and nearly 1 in 3 are worried about paying rent or mortgage.

Countywide, over 2 out of 5 (42.7%) adults are considered housing cost burdened, meaning they spend more than 30.0% of their household income on rent/mortgage and utilities, a definition that comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The percentage of residents who were housing cost burdened was significantly higher in 2025 compared to 2022 (42.7% vs. 32.8%).

Over half (55.7%) of residents with household incomes at or below 250% FPL reported being housing cost burdened compared to 37.1% of residents with household incomes above 250% FPL. While a larger share of lower-income residents are impacted by housing costs, it is worth noting that between 2022 and 2025 there was a significant increase in the percentage of residents with incomes above 250% FPL who were housing cost burdened (23.8% in 2022 vs. 37.1% in 2025).

A note on housing cost worries: Nearly 1 in 3 (32.7%) Weld County adults reported sometimes, usually, or always being worried about paying their rent or mortgage.  Worry about paying rent or mortgage was higher for young adult and Hispanic/Latino residents.

Health, Community and the Environment

Community-Based Services

Countywide, the highest community-based services need reported was mental health services, while the highest need for lower-income residents was food/meal assistance.

Countywide, the community-based service with the highest need was mental health services with 26.4% of residents indicating need. This was followed by 21.1% of residents needing low-cost dental/oral health services, 14.3% reporting food/meal assistance need and 14.3% needing financial assistance/welfare (Table 6).

Lower-income residents with household incomes at or below 138% FPL, the Medicaid income cutoff, reported the highest need for food/meal assistance (66.3%), low-cost dental/oral health services (49.2%), housing services (43.3%), and financial assistance/welfare (43.0%) (Table 6).

In 2025, lower-income residents, with household incomes at or below 138% FPL reported an increased demand for some community-based services compared to 2022. For lower-income residents, there was a 98% increase in the need for assistance signing up for health insurance (from 19.0% to 37.7%) and a 158% increase in the need for senior services (7.7% to 19.9%) between 2022 and 2025 (Figure 18).

A note on community-based services: Financial assistance includes unemployment, Colorado Works/TANF, Social Security, disability-SSI, Old Age Pension, or Aid to Needy & Disabled. Employment services include help finding work or job training. Food or meal assistance includes use of the Food Bank, SNAP benefits, WIC, Meals on Wheels, and school-based free or reduced lunch.

Environmental Concerns

Improper waste disposal on roadways and the availability of options for recycling were residents’ leading environmental health concerns.

Residents were asked about their level of concern regarding certain environmental health issues on a scale from ‘very unconcerned’ to ‘very concerned’ on the 2025 Community Health Survey.

The leading environmental concerns for Weld residents were waste disposal and recycling; 65.6% of residents were moderately or very concerned about improper disposal of waste on roadways and 61.2% were moderately or very concerned about recycling options for materials such as electronics.

Nearly half (48.2%) of residents were moderately or very concerned about outdoor air quality; a decrease from 2022 (62.2%). Other environmental concerns covered by the survey include unsafe food at grocery stores and restaurants (45.5% moderately or very concerned) and a lack of sidewalks and trails for walking or biking (38.4% moderately or very concerned) (Figure 19).

Active and Public Transportation

Only 2 in 5 residents feel that it is easy to get where they need to go using active modes of transportation like walking or biking.

Residents were asked how much they agreed with various active and public transportation topics, including how easy it is to walk, bike, or get places they need to go by walking or biking in the city, town, or rural area where they live.  Countywide, 65.2% of residents agreed or strongly agreed that it was easy to bike and 69.9% agreed that it was easy to walk in their community. However, fewer (40.1%) agreed that it was easy to get many places they needed to go in their community by walking or biking (Figure 20).

Almost 2 in 5 (38.4%) residents were moderately or very concerned about not having enough sidewalks or trails for biking and walking. Concern was significantly higher among Hispanic/Latino residents (47.2%) compared to White, non-Hispanic/Latino residents (34.6%).

Residents were also asked how easy it would be to carpool and how easy it is to use public transit. Roughly 1 in 5 residents (21.4%) agreed or strongly agreed that it would be easy for them to carpool while about 1 in 6 (17.3%) agreed or strongly agreed that it was easy to use public transportation.

Emergency Preparedness

Needing Help in an Emergency Situation

Roughly 49,000 adults said they would need help in the event of a natural disaster or other emergency.

Emergency preparedness is important for preventing and/or mitigating the effects of an emergency situation on residents (including weather-related incidents, natural disasters, and more).

The 2025 Community Health Survey asked residents three questions about potential needs in emergency situations. Residents were asked if they were dependent on medical equipment requiring electricity to maintain their health, if they would need transportation provided by another person or service provider to evacuate to a safe location in the event of a disaster, and if they required another person’s assistance to maintain their health due to a chronic medical condition.  

Countywide, 18.4% of residents reported needing some form of assistance during an emergency, including evacuation transportation, assistance from another person due to a chronic medical condition, help getting in and out of their home, or access to electricity-dependent medical equipment.

Residents in the Greeley/Evans region reported needing help in an emergency at a significantly higher rate (26.8%) compared to those who live in the North region (11.3%), the Carbon Valley region (16.4%), the Johnstown/Milliken region (12.7%), and the Windsor/Severance region (11.5%) (Figure 21).

Residents with household incomes at or below 138% FPL reported needing help in an emergency at a higher rate compared to those above 138% FPL (44.1% vs 14.2%, respectively).

Needing help in an emergency differed significantly by race/ethnicity; 28.2% of Hispanic/Latino residents reported needing help compared to 14.0% of White, non-Hispanic/Latino residents. Residents with more chronic health conditions also reported needing help in an emergency at a higher rate; 39.5% of residents with 4 or more chronic conditions reported needing help in an emergency, along with 20.3% of those with 2-3 chronic conditions.

Resident Comments

Almost 1,700 residents provided comments on ways to make Weld County a healthier place to live, work, and play. 

The 2025 Community Health Survey asked one, final open-ended question “What suggestions do you have on ways to make Weld County a healthier place to live, work, and play?” In total 1,674 residents answered this question, and responses were coded into main themes and sub-themes.

The top eight themes that emerged were transportation; bike/ped infrastructure; parks and recreation; environment; government services and community programming; law, safety, and crime; health care; and growth and development. Main takeaways and select comments on those topics which align with the 2025 Community Health Survey questionnaire are included here. For the full review of these top themes see the 2025 Resident Comments Weld Community Health Survey report.  

Bike & Pedestrian Infrastructure

While only 38.4% of residents were moderately or very concerned about not having enough sidewalks or trails for biking and walking, comments about the need for bike and pedestrian infrastructure was the top coded, single theme with 219 mentions. Many residents expressed their interest in more bike and pedestrian infrastructure, especially in the creation of trails for walking and biking opportunities in rural communities and between communities. Others expressed the need for accessibility and safety improvements. 

“Smaller communities in Weld county need repair to sidewalks, especially in older neighborhoods for easier walking and handicapped accessibility.” 

“Improve trails and accessibility in more rural areas”

“Each neighborhood should have access to safe sidewalks, trails, walking and riding paths."

“If you build it, they will come.”

Environment

Comments related to environmental concerns was the fourth most coded theme with 179 mentions. Many residents expressed concerns about air and water quality as well as the need to reduce pollution.   

“Take a multi-pronged approach to environmental issues that impact air and water -- addressing traffic, oil and gas emissions, and agricultural pollution -- monitoring and enforcing regulations and seeking new ways to regulate industry and traffic in the future. Water will continue to be a huge issue for the SW U.S. and doing our part to limit stress on the water supply will be critical to everyone's future.”

"Monitor and mitigate pollution."

Health care

The comments residents provided about health care align closely with survey findings for reasons why uninsured residents do not have health insurance (over 86% saying cost of health insurance was too high) and reason why residents are delaying or going without needed health care (cost, lack of convenient or available appointments, and not being able to take time off work). Other residents expressed the need for more mental health care services in the county.  

“Focus on mental health and addiction services”

“Have better medical services available in the county, I am going outside of Weld County to obtain better medical services.  Due to the distance, making appointments is difficult as I have a limited amount of free time that I can take off work to seek medical health services."

"Less understaffed clinics and easy access and affordable insurance”

“Our health insurances is TOO EXPENSIVE - we spend most of our income to be covered by Ins. [insurance] - this is Not Right-”

“As a new resident I had to wait 6 months to see a primary care physician as a new patient.”

Conclusion

Weld County is home to about 370,000 residents and is growing rapidly. The Community Health Survey continues to serve as a valuable source of information about health and wellbeing in our community.

Findings show that some negative indicators of our county’s health have remained similar or worsened in 2025 (such as the number of residents reporting chronic conditions, more residents using smokeless tobacco, and the number of residents struggling to afford necessities), while others have improved or held steady (such as a trend of mental distress improving among residents, the uninsured rate dropping significantly for Hispanic/Latino residents, and more residents receiving preventive health care measures).

 New topics explored this year include loneliness and social isolation, sleep, concern about waste disposal, and health care related discrimination. Findings revealed an association between loneliness and social isolation and physical and mental health challenges as well as a connection between health care related discrimination and delaying or going without needed care.

The interconnectedness of many of the trends highlighted in this report is important to consider; for example, there was an increase in the number of people reporting being disenrolled from Medicaid as the reason they are uninsured, while simultaneously more lower-income residents reported a need for help applying for insurance.

These findings indicate that the health status of residents is mixed, and in some cases, disproportionately worse among particular groups. For example, self-rated health was significantly worse among Hispanic/Latino residents compared to non-Hispanic/Latino residents. Examining health-related quality-of-life helps us understand the broad consequences of illness, disease, or injury, and social and environmental influences on health. Health-related quality-of-life is related to self-reported chronic diseases and their risk factors. These differences, along with many others, warrant attention and need to be considered alongside systems and conditions that may impact health.

The results from the 2025 Community Health Survey are just one piece in a larger community health assessment process. These data will be shared with partners, including partners in the Thriving Weld coalition, health care, education, local governments, the non-profit sector, and more. These findings will ultimately inform the Health Department’s updated Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) along with other data sources. More information on Weld County’s CHIP can be found on the health department’s CHIP webpage.

In addition to this detailed Key Findings Report, a dashboard with all 2025 Community Health Survey data and more information about this and past surveys can be found on the Weld County Community Health Survey webpage.

For any questions, please contact Weld County Department of Public Health and Environment’s Population Health and Data Analytics team at he-healthdata@weld.gov.