Metrics Background

Description

Percent of children age < 18 who are living below the federal poverty threshold.

Source

American Community Survey (Census)

Years of Collection

2010-2014 (5-year estimate)

How the Measure is Calculated

Children age < 18 living in households below the poverty threshold/ Total number of households with children age < 18

Description

Percent of a ninth-grade cohort that graduates high school within four years.

Source

State-based education data. * Because data are not collected and reported centrally, the values may not be comparable across cities.

Years of Collection

2014-2015

How the Measure is Calculated

Students who graduate high school four years after entering ninth grade / Total ninth grade cohort

Description

Percent of renter households for which housing costs total 30% or more of household income.

Source

American Community Survey (Census)

Years of Collection

2010-2014 (5-year estimate)

How the Measure is Calculated

Count of households for which housing costs ≥ 30% of household income / Total households

Description

Percent of the civilian population age ≥ 16 that is unemployed but actively seeking work.

Source

American Community Survey (Census)

Years of Collection

2010-2014 (5-year estimate)

How the Measure is Calculated

Civilian population age ≥ 16 seeking work / Total workforce population

Description

Number of reported violent crime offenses per population. Violent crimes include homicide, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.

Source

Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR)

Years of Collection

2015

How the Measure is Calculated

(Count of homicide, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault / Total population) x 100,000

Description

Percent of children at the end of third grade who score "proficient" or above in reading on standardized tests.

Source

State-based education data. *Because data are not collected and reported centrally, the values may not be comparable across cities.

Years of Collection

2014-2015 or 2015-2016

How the Measure is Calculated

Number of children at the end of third grade who score "proficient" or above in reading on standardized tests / Total third-graders who were tested

Description

Income inequality is measured by the index of concentration at the extremes (ICE), which represents the degree to which an area's residents are concentrated at the extremes of deprivation and privilege: a value of -1 means that 100% of the population is concentrated in the most deprived group (at or below the 20th percentile of income distribution), and a value of 1 means that 100% of the population is concentrated in the most privileged group (at or above the 80th percentile of income distribution).

Source

American Community Survey (Census)

Years of Collection

2010-2014 (5-year estimates)

How the Measure is Calculated

(Count of households at or above the 80th percentile of income distribution - Count of households at or below the 20th of income distribution) / Total households for which income is reported

Description

Number of jail inmates per population.

Source

Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2013-2014 Annual Summary on Inmates Under Jail Jurisdiction

Years of Collection

2013-2014

How the Measure is Calculated

(Count of jail inmates / Total population) x 100,000

Description

Percent of households reporting pest infestation, including but not limited to rats, mice, and cockroaches.

Source

National Center for Healthy Housing/American Housing Survey

Years of Collection

2012

How the Measure is Calculated

Households reporting pest infestation / Total households

Description

Index of two factors that contribute to a healthy food environment: (1) Percent of low-income households that do not live close to a grocery store and (2) Percent of population who did not have access to a reliable source of food in the last year.

Source

USDA Food Environment Atlas

Years of Collection

2013-2015

How the Measure is Calculated

Z-scores for the measures of food accessibility and affordability are averaged and re-scaled from 0 to 10. A value of 0 represents the least healthy food environment and a value of 10 representing the healthiest food environment.

Description

Walkability is represented by an area's Walkscore. Walkscores are calculated based on the ease of walking to such destinations as grocery stores, parks, restaurants, and other retail.

Source

Walkscore.com

Years of Collection

2016

How the Measure is Calculated

Walkability is represented on a scale of 0 (worst) to 100 (best).

Description

Air quality is represented by the AirMix Health Risk Index. Values were developed using a new approach to communicate the health risks associated with exposure to multiple air pollutants. The AirMix Health Risk Index represents the additive excess risk of respiratory morbidity associated with exposure to NO2, O3, and PM-2.5 as derived from a meta-analysis of epidemiology studies in the U.S. Air pollution concentrations from 2013-2015 were used to calculate the index.

Source

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) AirData / Calculated by New York University Marron Institute of Urban Management

Years of Collection

2013-2015

How the Measure is Calculated

Median of PM 2.5, ozone, and NO2 levels in an area. The scale is from 0 (lowest risk) to 10 (highest risk).

Description

Percent of adults who report smoking.

Source

Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 500 Cities Estimates

Years of Collection

2013-2014

How the Measure is Calculated

Respondents who report smoking / Total respondents

Description

Births to mothers age 15-19 per female population age 15-19.

Source

Birth Data, National Vital Statistics System, National Center for Health Statistics

Years of Collection

2011-2013

How the Measure is Calculated

(Births to mothers age 15-19 / Total female population age 15-19) x 1,000

Description

Percent of adults who report drinking > 3 drinks (women) or > 4 drinks (men) on an occasion.

Source

Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 500 Cities Estimates

Years of Collection

2013-2014

How the Measure is Calculated

Respondents reporting binge drinking / Total respondents

Description

Percent of adults who report getting no leisure time physical activity.

Source

Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 500 Cities Estimates

Years of Collection

2013-2014

How the Measure is Calculated

Respondents with no leisure time physical activity / Total respondents

Description

Deaths due to opioid overdose. Opioids include prescription drugs used for pain management, including hydrocodone, oxycodone, morphine, codeine, and related drugs and illicit street drugs, namely heroin.

Source

Multiple Cause Mortality Data, National Vital Statistics System, National Center for Health Statistics

Years of Collection

2011-2013

How the Measure is Calculated

(Opioid overdose deaths / Total population) x 100,000

Description

Percent of adults age 18+ who reported their physical health was not good for >=14 days in the past 30 days.

Source

Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 500 Cities Estimates

Years of Collection

2013-2014

How the Measure is Calculated

See description.

Description

Percent of live births for which birthweight is < 2500 grams.

Source

Birth Data, National Vital Statistics System, National Center for Health Statistics

Years of Collection

2011-2013

How the Measure is Calculated

Live births with birthweight < 2500 grams / Total live births

Description

Percent of adults with a BMI ≥ 30.

Source

Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 500 Cities Estimates

Years of Collection

2013-2014

How the Measure is Calculated

Respondents with BMI ≥ 30 / Total respondents

Description

Percent of adults age 18+ who reported their mental health was not good for >=14 days in the past 30 days.

Source

Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 500 Cities Estimates

Years of Collection

2013-2014

How the Measure is Calculated

See description.

Description

Years of potential life lost before age 75 per population. Years of life lost is calculated as the difference between age of death and 75 (e.g., a death at age 65 contributes 10 years of life lost), summed for all deaths in a community.

Source

Multiple Cause Mortality Data, National Vital Statistics System, National Center for Health Statistics

Years of Collection

2011-2013

How the Measure is Calculated

(Sum of years of life lost / Total population) x 100,000

Description

Percent of respondents ≥ 65 years of age who received a core set of preventive clinical services: Colorectal screening and pneumococcal vaccine ever, flu shot in the past year, and mammogram in past 2 years (women only).

Source

Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 500 Cities Estimates

Years of Collection

2013-2014

How the Measure is Calculated

Respondents age 65+ with preventive services / Total respondents age 65+

Description

Percent of adults who report having a routine dental exam or dental treatment in the past year.

Source

Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 500 Cities Estimates

Years of Collection

2013-2014

How the Measure is Calculated

Respondents with a dental visit in past year / Total respondents

Description

Number of primary care physicians in an area per population.

Source

American Medical Association Masterfile

Years of Collection

2015

How the Measure is Calculated

(Count of primary care providers / Total population) x 100,000

Description

Percent of women age 21-64 who report having received a Papanicolau smear in the past year.

Source

Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 500 Cities Estimates

Years of Collection

2013-2014

How the Measure is Calculated

Women age 21-64 who received a Pap smear / Total female respondents age 21-64