Summit County 2025 Community Health Assessment Findings Released
December 9, 2025
Summit County, OH – Summit County Public Health, in collaboration with multiple community partners, completed the 2025 Community Health Assessment (CHA). The CHA collects data about Summit County residents and compares almost 200 indicators relating to physical, mental, social, and financial health to the 2022 CHA. “This data provides a comprehensive picture of the health of Summit County residents, and provides a guide for SCPH, other governmental agencies, community partners, and grassroots organizations to make data driven recommendations for programming, policies, and health related goals for Summit County, “ says Chris Barker, Health Commissioner, Summit County Public Health.
The full report can be accessed on SCPH’s website or by the following link: 2025 Community Health Assessment
Brief Summary of Significant Improvements/Strengths:
Physical Health
- More than 94% of Summit County residents have health insurance.
- Provider-to-client ratios for primary care providers and dentists both improved since the 2022 CHA.
Mental Health & Addiction
- The ratio of Summit County population to mental health providers continued to improve, suggesting sustained increase in access to mental health services for the community.
- Despite an increase in binge drinking among adults, alcohol use among all populations decreased. Additionally, self-reported illegal drug use is down for youth, with only 20% reporting ever trying marijuana.
- Wait times for the County of Summit Alcohol, Drug Addiction, and Mental Health Services Board funded residential treatment facilities for both males and females decreased.
Social and Financial Health
- Access to broadband internet has grown to an estimated 90% of households. Much of the increase was among low- and moderate-income households.
Summary of Significant Negative Outcomes:
Length and Quality of Life
- Life expectancy at birth in Summit County has declined from 78.5 years to 76.3 years between the periods of 2014–2018 and 2019–2023, a drop of 2.2 years
Physical Health
- Syphilis rates increased 200% from rates in the 2022 CHA.
- Around 1 in 4 adults reporting smoking and the same proportion say they get little or no physical activity. These unhealthy behaviors have shown little to no improvement over the last 3 Community Health Assessments.
Social and Financial Health
- The cost of a market-rate 2-bedroom rental unit is nearly $1,100 per month and continues to climb, while the hours of work necessary for low-income residents to afford such units remains unacceptably high (81 hours per week).
- The homelessness point in time count increased 119% since the 2022 CHA.
- Housing affordability worsened during the pandemic, especially for renters and low-income families. Someone earning minimum wage would have to work at least 74 hours a week to afford a market-rate 2-bedroom apartment in Summit County without having to make unacceptable sacrifices in areas such as food or transportation costs.
SCPH is grateful for the insight and partnership of the County of Summit, the County of Summit Alcohol, Drug Addiction, and Mental Health Services Board (ADM), Summa Health, the Akron Community Foundation, Summit County Children Services, and the Summit County Developmental Disabilities Board. Their contributions strengthened this assessment and reinforced a shared commitment to improving community health.