ATSDR’s Geospatial Research, Analysis & Services Program (GRASP) created Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Social Vulnerability Index (CDC SVI or simply SVI, hereafter) to help public health officials and emergency response planners identify and map the communities that will most likely need support before, during, and after a hazardous event.

SVI indicates the relative vulnerability of every U.S. Census tract. Census tracts are subdivisions of counties for which the Census collects statistical data. SVI ranks the tracts on 15 social factors, including unemployment, minority status, and disability, and further groups them into four related themes. Thus, each tract receives a
ranking for each Census variable and for each of the four themes, as well as an overall ranking.

In addition to tract-level rankings, SVI 2018 also has corresponding rankings at the
county level. Notes below that describe “tract” methods also refer to county methods.

2017, 2016. Data were provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Division of Population Health, Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch. The project was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) in conjunction with the CDC Foundation. 500 cities project census tract-level data in GIS-friendly format can be joined with census tract spatial data (https://chronicdata.cdc.gov/500-Cities/500-Cities-Census-Tract-Boundaries/x7zy-2xmx) in a geographic information system (GIS) to produce maps of 27 measures at the census tract level. There are 7 measures (all teeth lost, dental visits, mammograms, Pap tests, colorectal cancer screening, core preventive services among older adults, and sleep less than 7 hours) in this 2019 release from the 2016 BRFSS that were the same as the 2018 release.

2016, 2015. Data were provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Division of Population Health, Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch. The project was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) in conjunction with the CDC Foundation. 500 cities project city-level data in GIS-friendly format can be joined with city spatial data (https://chronicdata.cdc.gov/500-Cities/500-Cities-City-Boundaries/n44h-hy2j) in a geographic information system (GIS) to produce maps of 27 measures at the city-level. There are 4 measures (high blood pressure, taking high blood pressure medication, high cholesterol, cholesterol screening) in this 2018 release from the 2015 BRFSS that were the same as the 2017 release.

This dataset contains census tract-level social determinants of health (SDOH) measures from the American Community Survey 5-year data for the entire United States—50 states and the District of Columbia. Data were downloaded from data.census.gov using Census API and processed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Division of Population Health, Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch. The project was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in conjunction with the CDC Foundation. These measures complement existing PLACES measures, including PLACES SDOH measures (e.g., health insurance, routine check-up). These data can be used together with PLACES data to identify which health and SDOH issues overlap in a community to help inform public health planning.

To access spatial data, please use the ArcGIS Online service: https://cdcarcgis.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=d51009ea78b54635be95c6ec9955ec17.

2017, 2016. Data were provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Division of Population Health, Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch. The project was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) in conjunction with the CDC Foundation. 500 cities project city-level data in GIS-friendly format can be joined with city spatial data (https://chronicdata.cdc.gov/500-Cities/500-Cities-City-Boundaries/n44h-hy2j) in a geographic information system (GIS) to produce maps of 27 measures at the city-level. There are 7 measures (all teeth lost, dental visits, mammograms, Pap tests, colorectal cancer screening, core preventive services among older adults, and sleep less than 7 hours) in this 2019 release from the 2016 BRFSS that were the same as the 2018 release.

2016, 2015. Data were provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Division of Population Health, Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch. The project was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) in conjunction with the CDC Foundation. 500 cities project census tract-level data in GIS-friendly format can be joined with census tract spatial data (https://chronicdata.cdc.gov/500-Cities/500-Cities-Census-Tract-Boundaries/x7zy-2xmx) in a geographic information system (GIS) to produce maps of 27 measures at the census tract level. There are 4 measures (high blood pressure, taking high blood pressure medication, high cholesterol, cholesterol screening) in this 2018 release from the 2015 BRFSS that were the same as the 2017 release.

2015, 2014. Data were provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Division of Population Health, Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch. The project was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) in conjunction with the CDC Foundation. 500 cities project census tract-level data in GIS-friendly format can be joined with census tract spatial data (https://chronicdata.cdc.gov/500-Cities/500-Cities-Census-Tract-Boundaries/x7zy-2xmx) in a geographic information system (GIS) to produce maps of 27 measures at the census tract level. Because some questions are only asked every other year in the BRFSS, there are 7 measures in this 2017 release from the 2014 BRFSS that were the same as the 2016 release.

2015, 2014. Data were provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Division of Population Health, Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch. The project was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) in conjunction with the CDC Foundation. 500 cities project census city-level data in GIS-friendly format can be joined with city spatial data (https://chronicdata.cdc.gov/500-Cities/500-Cities-City-Boundaries/n44h-hy2j) in a geographic information system (GIS) to produce maps of 27 measures at the city-level. Because some questions are only asked every other year in the BRFSS, there are 7 measures in this 2017 release from the 2014 BRFSS that were the same as the 2016 release.