Health Disparities Resources
Disparities in Health and Health Care: Five Key Questions and Answers (2020 report)
Provider: Kaiser Family Foundation
Years available: starting year varies; goes to most current available
Geographic Level: National level data
Overview: The Kaiser Family Foundation has developed a series of reports that provide excellent overviews describing health inequities or disparities in general (the primary link) as well as the impact by race and ethnicity in the US. The reports have data, but within the context of a report rather than a site where you can modify variables to look up data by year.
- Health and Health Care for Blacks in the United States
- Health and Health Care for Hispanics in the United States
- Health and Health Care for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders (NHOPIs) in the United States
- Health and Health Care for American Indians and Alaska Natives (AIANs)
- Issue Briefs
- These cover everything from COVID-19 to the Supreme Court.
- The Undefeated Survey on Race and Health
Health Equity Data
Provider: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Years available: Starting year varies; goes to most current available
Geographic Level: Multiple geographic levels
Data Sources
- Data, Trends, and Maps offers state and national indicators.
- Topics include obesity/weight status, breastfeeding, fruits and vegetables, physical activity, sugary drinks, and television viewing. For health equity data, choose race/ethnicity or other demographic in the "View by" field.
- Social Vulnerability Index identifies communities that may need support before, during, or after disasters or outbreaks.
- Social vulnerability may indicate health disparities.
- Community Resilience Estimates refer to the capacity of individuals and households to absorb, endure, and recover from the health, social, and economic effects of a disaster.
- Low resilience may indicate health disparities.
- Chronic Disease Indicators provide data for 18 categories across various risk factors for diseases.
- For health equity data, choose race/ethnicity or gender in the "View by" field.
- Aerobic and Muscle-Strengthening Physical Activity by Race/Ethnicity Across Income Levels reports trends among US adults, 1998–2018.
- Minority Population Profiles include demographic, education, economic, insurance coverage, and health status information.
- United States Diabetes Surveillance System provides data by age, gender, race/ethnicity, and education.
- PLACES: Local Data for Better Health includes chronic disease measures by location.
- Healthy People 2020 Overview of Health Disparities shows changes in disparities during the Healthy People 2020 tracking period. An interactive chart and table can be filtered by topic area and population characteristics, including sex, race and ethnicity, educational attainment, family income, disability status, and geographic location.
The Commonwealth Fund
Provider: The Commonwealth Fund
Years available: starting year varies; goes to most current available
Geographic Level: National and state level data
Overview: "...the mission of the Commonwealth Fund is to promote a high-performing, equitable health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, particularly for society’s most vulnerable, including people of color, people with low income, and those who are uninsured."
Health Disparities in HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STDs, and TB
Provider: US Center for Disease Control and Prevention
Years available: 2018 to most current available
Geographic Level: National level data
Overview: This site provides a very general overview of health disparities by race, ethnicity, and gender. It includes a special component on health disparities and youth, addressing LGBTQ+ issues.
Healthy People 2020: Health Disparities Data
Provider: Office of Disease Prevention & Health Promotion, US Department of Health & Human Services
Years available: 2020 to most current available
Geographic level: State and National level data
The above link goes to the main page for Health Disparities and Healthy People 2020. It includes links to:
- Health disparities data available on Healthy People 2020 (669 Objectives; can filter by topic)
- Health disparities tool user guide (PDF)
- Information on the Health Disparities Widget to add data to your Web site
Well Being in the Nation (WIN) Measures
Produced by: Well Being in the Nation (WIN) Network in cooperation with the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics
Geographic coverage: County, State, and National level
Dates of coverage: 2017 to most current
- Well-being of people
- Well-being of place
- Equity
- Demographics
- Community vitality
- Economy
- Education
- Environment & infrastructure
- Food & agriculture
- Health
- Housing
- Public safety
- Transportation
COVID Data Tracker
Produced by: US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC)
Geographic coverage: County, State, and National level
Dates of coverage: 2020 to present
- COVID-19 Integrated County View
- Level of community transmission, hospital utilization, cases, deaths, vaccinations, CDC Social Vulnerability Index
- Health Equity Data
- Vaccination Equity (by county & Social Vulnerability Index)
- COVID-19 Weekly Cases and Deaths per 100,000 Population by Age, Race/Ethnicity, and Sex
- Trends in COVID-19 Cases and Deaths in the United States, by County-level Population Factors
- COVID-19 Pandemic Vulnerability Index (PVI) by County
- Note: This is accessible through the COVID Data Tracker, but it is better when viewed using the native page.
- COVID-NET Laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 hospitalizations
- View data by age, sex, or race/ethnicity
- Demographic Trends of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the US reported to CDC
- Trends in COVID-19 Cases and Deaths in the United States, by County-level Population Factors
The COVID Racial Data Tracker
Produced by: COVID Tracking Project and the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research
Geographic coverage: State level data
Dates of coverage: 2020 to present
About the data: They collect, cross-check, and publish COVID-19 data from 56 US states and territories in three main areas: testing, hospitalization, and patient outcomes, racial and ethnic demographic information via The COVID Racial Data Tracker, and long-term-care facilities via the Long-Term-Care tracker.
Health Equity Tracker
Produced by: Satcher Health Leadership Institute, Morehouse School of Medicine
Geographic coverage: Limited County level, State level
Dates of coverage: Most current available
Conditions included: COPD, COVID-19, Diabetes, Uninsured, Poverty
Uses publicly available data from a variety of sources, such as the American Community Survey 5-year estimates, BRFSS, and the COVID Tracking Project's Racial Data Tracker.
Social Vulnerability Index Interactive Map
Produced by: US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC)
Geographic coverage: Census tract, County, State, and National level
Dates of coverage: 2000, 2010, 2014, 2016, 2018
MMWR 2013 Health Disparities Issue
Produced by: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
About: This special issue, while older, takes a broad look at health disparities in the United States, including: asthma, cigarette smoking, health related quality of life, coronary heart disease and strokes death, suicide, and much more. View individual components of the report or download the entire issue as a PDF.
Social/Economic Disparities
Pittsburgh's (PA) Inequality Across Gender and Race (PDF)
Produced by: City of Pittsburgh's Gender Equity Commission
Geographic coverage: Pittsburgh, PA
Dates of coverage: Published in 2019
National Equity Atlas
Produced by: PolicyLink/USC Equity Research Institute
Geographic coverage: City, state, region, and nation
Dates of coverage: Often pooled samples of 5-year averages, generally through 2017
Neighborhood Atlas (Area Deprivation Index)
Produced by: University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
Geographic coverage: City, state, region, and nation using Census Bureau block groups
Dates of coverage: 5-year averages based on the American Community Survey
Data availability for download: 2015 & 2019 & 2022 Area Deprivation Indexes
About: The Area Deprivation Index (ADI) is based on a measure created by the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) over three decades ago, and has since been refined, adapted, and validated to the Census Block Group neighborhood level by Amy Kind, MD, PhD and her research team at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Census Bureau: Topic: Disabilities
Produced by: US Census Bureau
Geographic coverage: Varies depending on report & data
Dates of coverage: Varies depending on report & data
Instructions on use: Sociodemographic Page under Census Bureau
- The US Census Bureau has multiple reports on people with disabilities living in the United States. The data is gathered from various surveys which are all accessible from the Census data site.
World Inequality Database: USA
Produced by: World Inequality Lab
Geographic coverage: State and country level data
Dates of coverage: As far back as 1913 to most current available
About: The World Inequality Database (WID.world) aims to provide open and convenient access to the most extensive available database on the historical evolution of the world distribution of income and wealth, both within countries and between countries.
- The link is set to view data for the US
- Click SELECT A SUB-REGION to retrieve state level data
- Gender inequality data is available but not by race/ethnicity.
Environmental Justice Resources
Environmental Justice Index
Produced by: US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry (ATSDR)
About: The Environmental Justice Index uses data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to rank the cumulative impacts of environmental injustice on health for every census tract. Census tracts are subdivisions of counties for which the Census collects statistical data. The EJI ranks each tract on 36 environmental, social, and health factors and groups them into three overarching modules and ten different domains.
- Launch the EJI Mapping Tool
EJSCREEN: Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool
Produced by: US Environmental Protection Agency
About: Create maps and generate detailed reports based on the geographic areas and data sets you choose.
- Launch the EJ Mapping Tool
Heat Island Effect
Produced by: US Environmental Protection Agency
About: This site is more informative than data driven.
- Learn:
- Plan
- Act
Climate Impacts on Human Health
Produced by: US EPA
See also: Environmental data: Climate change
Pennsylvania Environmental Justice (EJ) Areas
Produced by: Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Programs
- DEP Environmental Justice Public Participation Policy
- DEP defines an EJ Area as any census tract where 20 percent or more individuals live at or below the federal poverty line, and/or 30 percent or more of the population identifies as a non-white minority, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the federal guidelines for poverty.
- View EJ on a map