Which Cities and States Have The Highest Rates of Skin Cancer?

Is your state giving you skin cancer? A recently released study from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) analyzed the rates of skin cancer diagnosis across the country, and the results might not be what you expect.

Skin cancer has become the most common form of cancer in the country, and there are about 9,500 people diagnosed with skin cancer every day. In 2016, 257,000 BCBSA members received melanoma diagnoses, compared with 237,000 in 2013. BCBSA used this member data to determine which states and cities had the highest and lowest populations of skin cancer rates. To no surprise, the researchers found that 7.1 percent of Floridians have some kind of skin cancer, and in Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida, 10 percent of people have been diagnosed with skin cancer. Washington D.C. came in second with 5.6 percent of residents living with skin cancer, and Connecticut was third on the list with 5.6 percent.

Although south Texas has high temperatures almost year-round, BCBSA found that Laredo, Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito, and Mcallen-Edinburg-Mission had the lowest rates of skin cancer of all U.S. cities. Similarly, Hawaii was determined the state with the lowest rate. However, it’s important to consider membership numbers in these areas when evaluating these statistics.