Heart and Metabolic Health Statistics: Philadelphia Region
Heart disease killed 8,567 residents of Philadelphia and its four Pennsylvania suburban counties in 2023, 27.9% of the state’s heart disease deaths, and CDC survey estimates suggest about 1 million adults there have been told they have high blood pressure.
Every figure below gives its source and year. County prevalence figures are CDC model-based estimates; death figures are counts and rates from death certificates. Our study of heart risk in the Philadelphia suburbs compares the counties over time and maps Montgomery County tract by tract.
Heart disease deaths
- 8,567 residents of Philadelphia, Montgomery, Delaware, Chester and Bucks counties died of heart disease in 2023, 27.9% of Pennsylvania’s 30,709. Source: Pennsylvania Department of Health.
- From 2018 through 2023, the five counties recorded 53,491 heart disease deaths. Source: Pennsylvania Department of Health.
- Among adults 35 and older, the heart disease death rate in 2022-2024 was 381.4 per 100,000 in Philadelphia, the highest of the five counties, and 250.5 in Bucks County, the lowest. Source: CDC, age-adjusted.
- Montgomery County’s rate was 291.5 per 100,000 in 2022-2024, against 284.3 in 2018-2020. Pennsylvania’s was 324.6 and the national rate 315.3. Source: CDC, age-adjusted.
| Area | 2018-2020 | 2022-2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia | 397.1 | 381.4 |
| Montgomery County | 284.3 | 291.5 |
| Delaware County | 320.0 | 322.3 |
| Chester County | 282.2 | 258.0 |
| Bucks County | 262.0 | 250.5 |
| Pennsylvania | 339.2 | 324.6 |
| United States | 319.5 | 315.3 |
Heart disease deaths per 100,000 adults 35 and older, age-adjusted; county rates are spatially smoothed by CDC. Sources: CDC, 2022-2024; CDC, 2018-2020.
| Area | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia | 3,475 | 3,450 | 3,798 | 3,501 | 3,577 | 3,217 |
| Montgomery County | 1,812 | 1,893 | 1,837 | 1,925 | 1,921 | 1,864 |
| Delaware County | 1,240 | 1,304 | 1,315 | 1,260 | 1,260 | 1,223 |
| Chester County | 1,048 | 960 | 973 | 884 | 967 | 930 |
| Bucks County | 1,330 | 1,297 | 1,247 | 1,381 | 1,269 | 1,333 |
| Pennsylvania | 32,713 | 32,250 | 32,880 | 32,423 | 32,277 | 30,709 |
Heart disease deaths of county residents, all ages (cause code 044). Source: Pennsylvania Department of Health; 2023 is the latest year published.
Heart and metabolic conditions, county by county
Age-adjusted shares compare counties with different age mixes; the share of adults and the estimated number of people describe the county as it is. Estimated numbers are the share of adults times CDC’s adult population figure in the same file, rounded to the nearest 100; there is none for high cholesterol, which CDC measures only among adults who have had their cholesterol checked.
High cholesterol
Share of adults who have ever had their cholesterol checked who were told it was high. CDC PLACES, 2024 release; survey year 2021.
- Philadelphia: 28.8% age-adjusted; 30.6% of adults ever checked (2021).
- Montgomery County: 27.2% age-adjusted; 32.1% of adults ever checked (2021).
- Delaware County: 28.7% age-adjusted; 33.1% of adults ever checked (2021).
- Chester County: 29.9% age-adjusted; 35.0% of adults ever checked (2021).
- Bucks County: 27.5% age-adjusted; 33.6% of adults ever checked (2021).
- United States: 30.4% age-adjusted; 35.5% of adults ever checked (2021).
- Of the five counties, Chester County has the highest age-adjusted share and Montgomery County the lowest.
High blood pressure
Share of adults who have been told they have high blood pressure. CDC PLACES, 2024 release; survey year 2021.
- Philadelphia: 32.0% age-adjusted; 31.7% of adults, about 392,100 people (2021).
- Montgomery County: 27.0% age-adjusted; 30.8% of adults, about 210,500 people (2021).
- Delaware County: 30.2% age-adjusted; 33.0% of adults, about 148,600 people (2021).
- Chester County: 25.0% age-adjusted; 28.7% of adults, about 122,600 people (2021).
- Bucks County: 26.0% age-adjusted; 31.0% of adults, about 160,700 people (2021).
- United States: 29.6% age-adjusted; 32.7% of adults (2021).
- Of the five counties, Philadelphia has the highest age-adjusted share and Chester County the lowest. Together the five counties have about 1,034,500 adults with this condition (2021 estimate).
Coronary heart disease
Share of adults who have been told they have coronary heart disease or angina. CDC PLACES, 2024 release; survey year 2022.
- Philadelphia: 6.9% age-adjusted; 7.1% of adults, about 87,800 people (2022).
- Montgomery County: 5.3% age-adjusted; 6.7% of adults, about 45,800 people (2022).
- Delaware County: 5.1% age-adjusted; 6.1% of adults, about 27,500 people (2022).
- Chester County: 4.9% age-adjusted; 5.9% of adults, about 25,200 people (2022).
- Bucks County: 5.5% age-adjusted; 7.4% of adults, about 38,300 people (2022).
- United States: 5.7% age-adjusted; 6.8% of adults (2022).
- Of the five counties, Philadelphia has the highest age-adjusted share and Chester County the lowest. Together the five counties have about 224,600 adults with this condition (2022 estimate).
Diabetes
Share of adults who have been told they have diabetes (not counting diabetes only during pregnancy). CDC PLACES, 2024 release; survey year 2022.
- Philadelphia: 14.4% age-adjusted; 14.6% of adults, about 180,600 people (2022).
- Montgomery County: 8.5% age-adjusted; 10.3% of adults, about 70,400 people (2022).
- Delaware County: 9.5% age-adjusted; 10.8% of adults, about 48,600 people (2022).
- Chester County: 7.9% age-adjusted; 9.2% of adults, about 39,300 people (2022).
- Bucks County: 8.8% age-adjusted; 11.1% of adults, about 57,500 people (2022).
- United States: 10.4% age-adjusted; 12.0% of adults (2022).
- Of the five counties, Philadelphia has the highest age-adjusted share and Chester County the lowest. Together the five counties have about 396,400 adults with this condition (2022 estimate).
Obesity
Share of adults with a body mass index of 30 or more, from self-reported height and weight. CDC PLACES, 2024 release; survey year 2022.
- Philadelphia: 34.5% age-adjusted; 34.2% of adults, about 423,000 people (2022).
- Montgomery County: 31.2% age-adjusted; 31.5% of adults, about 215,300 people (2022).
- Delaware County: 31.4% age-adjusted; 30.9% of adults, about 139,200 people (2022).
- Chester County: 29.5% age-adjusted; 29.6% of adults, about 126,400 people (2022).
- Bucks County: 30.4% age-adjusted; 30.4% of adults, about 157,500 people (2022).
- United States: 33.4% age-adjusted; 33.3% of adults (2022).
- Of the five counties, Philadelphia has the highest age-adjusted share and Chester County the lowest. Together the five counties have about 1,061,400 adults with this condition (2022 estimate).
Related measures
| Measure (age-adjusted) | Philadelphia | Montgomery | Delaware | Chester | Bucks | US |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stroke (ever told) | 4.3% | 2.6% | 2.7% | 2.3% | 2.6% | 3.1% |
| Current smoking | 18.6% | 12.1% | 13.1% | 11.1% | 15.8% | 13.2% |
| No leisure-time physical activity | 27.0% | 18.0% | 19.7% | 17.7% | 21.6% | 23.0% |
| Taking blood pressure medicine (of adults with high blood pressure) | 61.9% | 57.1% | 59.4% | 58.7% | 58.2% | 58.9% |
| Cholesterol checked in the past 5 years | 84.2% | 85.6% | 84.7% | 84.9% | 84.2% | 84.3% |
| Routine checkup in the past year | 78.8% | 76.1% | 78.1% | 75.2% | 75.5% | 74.2% |
Share of adults, age-adjusted. Survey years: stroke, smoking, physical activity and checkup 2022; blood pressure medicine and cholesterol checks 2021. Source: CDC PLACES, 2024 release.
About these numbers
- CDC PLACES estimates county shares from the national Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey with a statistical model; they are estimates, not counts. The 2025 release has no Pennsylvania figures for these heart measures, so the 2024 release is used.
- Death rates come from CDC’s county heart disease mortality tables for adults 35 and older (three-year averages, age-adjusted, smoothed across neighboring counties). The counts come from the Pennsylvania Department of Health and are not smoothed. CDC WONDER holds the same death records but its API does not return county data, so the published CDC tables are used.
- All figures, with confidence intervals, are in the CSV.
Limits
- Survey-based figures rely on what people report: undiagnosed high blood pressure, cholesterol or diabetes is not counted.
- County estimates carry uncertainty; small differences between counties may not be real. The CSV gives each estimate’s range.
- These figures describe populations. They cannot tell any one person their risk.
Cite this page
YoungerMeMD. “Heart and Metabolic Health Statistics: Philadelphia Region.” Published November 13, 2026. https://youngermemd.com/research/heart-health-statistics-philadelphia/
Data: all figures (CSV). Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with credit to YoungerMeMD and a link to this page.
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These are county figures, not a personal assessment. Cardio Res-Q is our cardiac risk panel; your clinician decides whether it fits you.
This page reports public population data for general education. It is not medical or legal advice and does not describe any individual. Speak with a qualified clinician about your own health.