Community Health Survey 2025

Promo graphic for Community Health Survey 2025Tompkins County Whole Health (TCWH) launched its Community Health Survey on January 23, 2025. It remained open until February 28, 2025.

A major focus of this survey was to capture how people perceive their own health and factors that influence health outcomes. This primary data will complement existing secondary data from established sources, helping to create a picture of the community’s overall health and to identify areas that require deeper exploration or intervention.

Healthy Community

Affordable healthcare, affordable safe housing, and a clean environment were identified as the 3 most important factors that create a healthy community.

Economic Stability

Over the past year, medical expenses, housing costs, and utility bills emerged as the most common financial challenges for households.

Social and Community Context

Stress About Meeting Basic Needs

Stress and anxiety about meeting basic needs are most common among younger adults, decreasing as age increases.

Stress or anxiety about meeting basic needs decreases steadily as income rises. Over half of respondents earning less than $15,000 report frequent stress or anxiety over meeting basic needs. However, some stress is relatively consistent across income levels, with around one quarter of respondents checking “Sometimes.”

Stress and anxiety about meeting basic needs vary by employment status. The highest levels are reported by those unable to work due to disability or other reasons and unemployed. In contrast, retired individuals and those employed full-time report the lowest levels of stress.

Experiencing Mental Health Challenges

Mental health challenges are most common among younger respondents, related to high levels of loneliness and suicide ideation.

Nearly half of respondents reporting mental health challenges shared they engaged with community resources to address their needs.

Rating Your Health

Self-rated physical health is relatively similar across age groups, while mental health improves with age.

Self-rated physical and mental health improve with increasing income, highlighting a strong link between financial well-being and overall health perceptions.

Respondents experiencing financial challenges rated their physical and mental health lower than respondents who were not facing these challenges.

Neighborhood and Built Environment

Safety

Most respondents across municipalities report their neighborhoods are safe. Newfield reported the highest level of perceived safety, while Groton recorded the lowest.

Recreation

While about two-thirds of respondents in most municipalities report having enough recreational spaces, this is not universal across all areas. In Groton, fewer than half of respondents reported there were enough recreational spaces.

Healthcare access and quality

Barriers to access varied across service types, but cost, provider availability, and long wait times were the most commonly reported challenges overall. Lack of insurance coverage was a significant barrier only for dental care.

Demographics


Download the Community Health Survey Report PDF(PDF, 5MB)

6/11/2025

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