Testing a Working PC360 slideshow
For a look at the five states with the highest arthritis prevalence for working-age adults, see the gallery above.
For data for all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, see the table below.
Methods: The CDC breaks down data on arthritis prevalence for people under 18, people ages 65 and older, and four age groups from 18 through 64.
We came up with an arthritis prevalence rate for working-age people by averaging the data for the age groups in that age range. One benefit of using that approach is that it filters out the effects of the aging of the population, or other population trends, in a given state.
At press time, the CDC had not included data from Kentucky and Pennsylvania in the 2023 BRFSS results.
The impact: At employer plans, about 0.4% of the members have rheumatoid arthritis, and total medical costs for the members with arthritis averaged about $17,000, according to a 2020 study by researchers at Cambia Health Solutions and Prime Therapeutics.