  Fifth forces are ubiquitous in modified theories of gravity. In this paper,
we analyze their effect on the Cepheid-calibrated cosmic distance ladder,
specifically with respect to the inferred value of the Hubble constant ($H_0$).
We consider a variety of effective models where the strength, or amount of
screening, of the fifth force is estimated using proxy fields related to the
large-scale structure of the Universe. For all models considered, the local
distance ladder and the Planck value for $H_0$ agrees with a probability
$\gtrsim 20 \, \%$, relieving the tension compared to the concordance model
with data being excluded at $99 \, \%$ confidence. The alleviated discrepancy
comes partially at the cost of an increased tension between distance estimates
from Cepheids and the tip of the red-giant branch (TRGB). Demanding also that
the consistency between Cepheid and TRGB distance estimates is not impaired,
some fifth force models can still accommodate the data with a probability
$\gtrsim 20 \, \%$. This provides incentive for more detailed investigations of
fundamental theories on which the effective models are based, and their effect
on the Hubble tension.
