Local health departments in the United States

A local health department is a government agency in the United States on the front lines of public health. Local health departments may be entities of local or state government and often report to a mayor, city council, county board of health or county commission. There are approximately 2,800 local health departments across the United States.

These city, county, metropolitan, district, and tribal departments work every day to ensure the safety of the water we drink, the food we eat, and the air we breathe. Members of a community may not always see the work done by local health departments, but people live healthier lives and are safer because of the work of local health departments.

Local health departments help create and maintain conditions in communities that support healthier choices in areas such as diet, exercise, and tobacco. They lead efforts that prevent and reduce the effects of chronic diseases, such as diabetes and cancer. They detect and stop outbreaks of diseases like measles, tuberculosis, and foodborne illnesses. They protect children and adults from infectious diseases through immunization. Local health departments also conduct programs that are shown to effectively make communities healthier. Some local health departments programs include:

Local health departments play a central role in providing essential public health services in communities that fall into the following ten categories:

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