Data Source Descriptions

The American Community Survey

is an ongoing statistical survey coordinated by the United States Census Bureau

that provides detailed information on national population demographics. Data are derived from the bureau directly via its 1-year

and 5-year

datasets or from using the public use microdata sample (PUMS)

file.

The American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation

is a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating the public about the adverse health effects of smoking and secondhand smoke exposure, as well as the benefits of smoke-free environments. The foundation produces lists and maps covering laws regarding clean air, e-cigarettes, marijuana and tobacco sales in pharmacies. Data are accessed via the Lists & Maps

webpage.

Annual Homelessness Assessment Reports

are shared with Congress by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

. The reports provide national estimates of homelessness and capacity and use of homeless services based on data from the Homeless Management Information System

. Data are accessed via the HUD User Data Portal

.

The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)

is the nation's largest phone-based population survey. The survey, coordinated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

in collaboration with state, territory and federal agencies, provides information about health-related risk behaviors, chronic health conditions and use of preventive services. Data are accessed via the CDC’s BRFSS

web page.

CDC WONDER

is a query system for analyzing public-use data from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics

on births and deaths, as well as other topics. Data are obtained from the Multiple Cause of Death

, Linked Birth/Infant Death

, Natality

and Single-Race Population Estimates

files.

The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries

is conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics

, which collects and analyzes data on employment, wages and other workplace statistics for the U.S. Department of Labor

. Census data are obtained from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities (IIF)

program and combined with employment data from the U.S. Department of Commerce

’s Bureau of Economic Analysis

.

The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES)

is a nonprofit environmental policy think tank that produces data and reports on climate basics, solutions and policies. Data are obtained from the C2ES website.

The Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool

, developed by the White House’s Council on Environmental Quality

, used data from multiple high-quality sources to identify disadvantaged communities in categories of burdens that included climate change, energy, health, housing, legacy pollution, transportation, water and wastewater, as well as workforce development. With regard to climate change, the tool helped federal agencies identify where to invest in climate and clean energy before being discontinued in January of 2025. Data in this edition were repeated from the last edition.

Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS)

data are produced by the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Policy Development and Research

, which manages specific housing data from the American Community Survey. These data demonstrate the extent of housing problems and needs, particularly for low-income households. Data are accessed via the Consolidated Planning/CHAS Data

web portal.

EDFacts

collects, analyzes and centralizes data from state education agencies and other data sources on district and school demographics, performance and participation for the U.S. Department of Education

. Data are obtained using the ED Data Express

tool.

The Environmental Protection Agency

performs various federal research, monitoring, standard-setting and enforcement activities to ensure environmental protection. National Safe Drinking Water Act

data are reported by states, compiled from the Safe Drinking Water Information System

database for public water systems and downloaded from the Enforcement and Compliance History Online

website. State-level air pollution data are obtained via a special request to the agency.

The Household Food Security in the United States

report provides national statistics on food security, household food spending and use of federal food and nutrition assistance by food-insecure households. The report is produced annually by the Economic Research Service

of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

using data from the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey

 Food Security Supplements

.

The Mapping Medicare Disparities (MMD) Tool

is a comprehensive source of information from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

’ Office of Minority Health

, offering data on eliminating health disparities and improving the health of minority populations. This tool features health outcome measures of disease prevalence, costs, hospitalizations for 60 chronic conditions, emergency department use, readmissions rates, mortality, preventable hospitalizations and preventive services. Data are obtained from the MMD by Population

website.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress

is the largest continuing and nationally representative assessment of student academic achievement and learning experiences in the U.S., administered by the Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics

. Results from the assessment, including reading proficiency data, are published in the Nation’s Report Card

.

The National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and Tuberculosis Prevention (NCHHSTP) Atlas

allows users to create customized tables, maps and charts using more than 15 years of surveillance data on HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis, sexually transmitted diseases, tuberculosis and social determinants of health. Data are obtained from the NCHHSTP AtlasPlus interactive website.

The National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network (NEPHTN)

brings together health data and environmental data from national, state and city sources and provides supporting information to make the data easier to understand. Data from state and local health departments are compiled by the tracking network and accessed via their data explorer

.

The National Immunization Surveys (NIS)

are ongoing phone surveys conducted by the CDC that collect information on vaccinations among children ages 6 months to 17 years. NIS-Child and NIS-Teen data are obtained from the VaxView

websites.

The National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES)

is a registry developed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to improve the efficiency of electronic health information transmission. NPPES assigns a unique National Provider Identifier (NPI)

number to covered health care providers and health plans to conduct all administrative and financial transactions under HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Data are accessed via the NPI files

website.

The National Survey of Children’s Health

collects annual data on children’s health and access to health care based on responses from a parent or guardian who knows about the child’s health and health care needs. Data for this report are obtained from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau

, which funds and directs the survey. Survey data are also published annually on the U.S. Census Bureau’s website

.

The State Energy Data System (SEDS)

, maintained by the U.S. Energy Information Administration

, produces comprehensive statistics on state energy consumption, prices and expenditures over time. Data are obtained from the SEDS

website.

The Survey of Non-Medical Use of Prescription Drugs (NMURx) Program

is a data source from the Researched Abuse, Diversion and Addiction-Related Surveillance (RADARS^®) System

that collects product- and geographically-specific data on abuse, misuse and diversion of prescription drugs. The RADARS System is part of Denver Health and Hospital Authority’s Rocky Mountain Poison & Drug Safety

. Data are obtained via a direct request to the organization.

The Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses

provides annual information on the incidence rate and number of work-related injuries, illnesses and fatal injuries, and how these statistics vary by incident, industry, geography, occupation and other characteristics. Data are collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ IIF program and accessed via the CDC’s NEPHTN data explorer.

Trust for America’s Health

is a public health policy, research and advocacy organization. State public health funding data are obtained via direct request to the organization.

Volunteering and Civic Life Supplement

data are collected by the Current Population Survey, an ongoing statistical survey sponsored jointly by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Data are released biennially in odd years and obtained from the Census Bureau’s website.

Voting and Registration Supplement

data from the Current Population Survey are released by the Census Bureau every two years following national elections.

The Water Fluoridation Reporting System

monitors community water systems receiving optimally fluoridated drinking water across the U.S. National and state-level data are obtained from the CDC’s Fluoridation Statistics

website.