Data & Methodology

How MedEquity handles data

Every indicator is documented: where it comes from, exactly what it measures, its uncertainty, and the rules for missing, suppressed and comparable values.

Data status

Real data from verified sources

Thirteen indicators show real county data, each downloaded and validated offline by a script in scripts/ (exactly 254 Texas counties joined by FIPS and checked against the boundary file; source suppression kept as suppressed, never zero):

11 CDC PLACES measures — model-based estimates, 2023–2025 releases (fetch-places.mjs).
Heart disease death rate, adults 35+ — CDC, 2022–2024, age-standardized and spatially smoothed (fetch-heart-mortality.mjs).
Poverty — U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024 5-year, table B17001 (fetch-acs-poverty.mjs).
Cancer incidence (all sites, lung, colorectal, female breast, prostate) — Texas Cancer Registry via NCI/CDC State Cancer Profiles, 2019–2023, age-adjusted (fetch-cancer-incidence.mjs).
Primary care shortage area (HPSA) designation — HRSA, snapshot of 2026-10-18 (fetch-hpsa.mjs).

Primary care physicians per 100,000 is not offered: the only county source identified (HRSA AHRF, from AMA data) may not be republished without permission, so HRSA’s shortage area designation is shown instead. Synthetic values are never mixed with real data.

Each source below is marked verified (terms and data checked and loaded), restricted (terms checked, but the data cannot be republished or automated without permission) or unverified. Before any real dataset is published it must pass: source and licence verification, 254-county FIPS join validation, suppression-rule checks, metadata completeness, and manual approval. Updates follow the same path — automated monitoring may flag a new release, but publication is never automatic.

Source catalog

Candidate sources. Listing a source here does not mean its data has been verified or approved.

PLACES: Local Data for Better Health (county data)

Verified source

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Intended measures: Crude prevalence (data value type CrdPrv) among adults 18+ for CHD, STROKE, BPHIGH, CANCER, DIABETES, CASTHMA, COPD, KIDNEY (2023 release only), OBESITY, DEPRESSION and MHLTH.
Caveats: Model-based small-area estimates (multilevel regression and post-stratification of BRFSS). County estimates are not stratified by demographic group. Release year is not observation year: each measure carries its own BRFSS year. CDC states the model does not support tracking change over time, so releases are never charted as a trend. CDC changed its confidence-interval method beginning with the 2023 release. CDC suppresses estimates for counties with population under 50. Chronic kidney disease was discontinued from the 2024 release.
Redistribution: data.cdc.gov lists each county dataset as Public Domain. Suggested citation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. PLACES: Local Data for Better Health. Accessed 2026-10-17. https://www.cdc.gov/places

Texas Cancer Registry county incidence (via State Cancer Profiles)

Verified source

Texas Department of State Health Services, Texas Cancer Registry; published by the National Cancer Institute and CDC (State Cancer Profiles, SEER submission)

Intended measures: Age-adjusted cancer incidence per 100,000 for all sites, lung & bronchus, colon & rectum, female breast and prostate, 2019–2023, all races, all ages (State Cancer Profiles site codes 001, 047, 020, 055, 066).
Caveats: Verified 2026-10-18. Texas county rows on State Cancer Profiles come from the Texas Cancer Registry’s SEER November 2025 submission. 5-year average annual rates of invasive cancer, age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population, with 95% confidence intervals. Counties with fewer than 16 cases are suppressed (“3 or fewer” average annual cases), which affects about 50–60 small counties for single cancer sites. Breast is female only; prostate is male only. Unsuppressed county files are available from TCR only on request; none has been made.
Redistribution: NCI states its information is free of copyright and may be reused with credit to NCI. TCR requests this acknowledgement: “Texas cancer data have been provided by TCR, the Cancer Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch, Texas Department of State Health Services, 1100 West 49th Street, Austin, TX 78756. Data from TCR is supported by the following: Cooperative Agreement #1NU58DP007140 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Contract #75N91021D00011 from the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program, and the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT).”

CDC WONDER / NCHS mortality

Checked — use restricted

CDC National Center for Health Statistics

Intended measures: Cause-specific mortality (not used directly; see CDC heart disease mortality data below).
Caveats: Checked 2026-10-18: the WONDER API returns national data only — mortality queries cannot be grouped or limited by state or county. County figures are available only through manual queries in the web application, under NCHS small-count suppression rules.
Redistribution: Not used for automated county data. MedEquity uses CDC’s published county heart disease mortality dataset instead.

Heart Disease Mortality Data Among US Adults (35+) by State/Territory and County

Verified source

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention (data: National Vital Statistics System)

Intended measures: Heart disease death rate per 100,000 adults aged 35+, ICD-10 I00–I09, I11, I13, I20–I51.
Caveats: Verified 2026-10-18. 3-year average (2022–2024), age-standardized to the 2000 U.S. standard population, spatially smoothed (each county’s rate borrows strength from neighbouring counties). Adults 35+ only. No confidence intervals are published. Counties where a reliable rate cannot be generated are marked “Insufficient Data” by CDC (Loving County).
Redistribution: CDC states most of its material is public domain and may be reused with attribution to CDC, a non-endorsement disclaimer, no change to substantive content, and a note that it is available free on CDC’s website.

Area Health Resources Files (AHRF)

Checked — use restricted

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)

Intended measures: Primary care physicians (variable phys_nf_prim_care_pc_exc_rsdt_23, AHRF 2024–2025) per population (popn_est_23).
Caveats: Checked 2026-10-18 against the AHRF 2024–2025 User Guide. Physician counts come from the American Medical Association Physician Professional Data (copyrighted).
Redistribution: Blocked: the AHRF User Guide states reproduction for reuse is not authorized without HRSA Bureau of Health Workforce permission, and that AMA data may not be copied or reproduced in whole or in part without the copyright owner’s consent. Not published on MedEquity; the primary care shortage area (HPSA) indicator is shown instead.

HRSA data downloads ↗

Health Professional Shortage Areas — Primary Care (all HPSAs)

Verified source

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Bureau of Health Workforce, Division of Policy and Shortage Designation

Intended measures: Extent of primary care HPSA designation in each county (whole county geographic, whole county population group, part of county, or none), from HRSA’s own designation records.
Caveats: Verified 2026-10-18. HRSA refreshes the file daily and publishes only the current list, so the map shows one dated snapshot. Designations are administrative decisions made on application (usually through the Texas Primary Care Office), not a direct count of clinicians: a county with no designation may still have a shortage that has not been designated. Designated and Proposed For Withdrawal HPSAs are counted (both are in effect); withdrawn ones are not. Facility HPSAs (health centers, rural health clinics, correctional and tribal facilities) are sites, not areas, and are not counted.
Redistribution: HRSA’s Data Warehouse lists “Usage limitations: None” for the HPSA files. Designations are U.S. Government work. Only designation status is republished; HRSA’s provider FTE and ratio fields are not used.

American Community Survey 5-year estimates

Verified source

U.S. Census Bureau

Intended measures: Percent of people below the poverty level (all ages, under 18, 65+) from table B17001, ACS 2020–2024 5-year.
Caveats: Verified 2026-10-18. Survey estimates pooled over five years, with 90% margins of error. Percentages and their margins are derived from B17001 counts using the Census Bureau’s formula for derived proportions (an approximation). Overlapping 5-year periods should not be compared as trends.
Redistribution: U.S. federal statistical data; the Census Bureau asks users to cite its data (see citation guidance).

NIH and other authoritative medical sources (education)

Verified source

National Institutes of Health, CDC, NCI, MedlinePlus and HRSA

Intended measures: Background for Health Education articles — not county data.
Caveats: Verified 2026-10-18 for education use: all 48 pages cited by the articles were re-fetched and every number in a cited statement was checked against its source. NIH is not a source of county-level disease data, so nothing on the map comes from it.
Redistribution: Articles are written in MedEquity’s own words and link to each source; no source text is republished.

County boundaries (cartographic, 1:10m) via the us-atlas package

Verified for geometry

U.S. Census Bureau (packaged by the us-atlas open-source project)

Intended measures: County geometry for all 254 Texas counties with 5-digit FIPS identifiers.
Caveats: Generalized boundaries for display only; not for area measurement. Validated at build time (254 counties, unique FIPS).
Redistribution: Census boundary data is public domain; package licence ISC.

us-atlas on npm ↗

Indicator dictionary

Each indicator’s definition and metadata. Fields marked ‘verify’ must be confirmed against official documentation before publication.

Coronary heart disease among adultsPrevalenceModeled estimateVerified data

Indicator ID: chd
Categories: Cardiovascular Disease
Dataset / publisher: PLACES: Local Data for Better Health (county data) — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Source measure ID: CHD (CrdPrv)
Definition: Adults aged 18+ who report ever being told by a health professional that they had angina or coronary heart disease.
Unit: Percent of population
Numerator: Respondents reporting the condition (modeled)
Denominator: Adults aged 18+
Age adjustment: Crude prevalence (PLACES data value type CrdPrv). PLACES also publishes age-adjusted prevalence (AgeAdjPrv), which CDC suggests for comparing counties with different age structures; it is not loaded in this build.
Observed vs modeled: Modeled estimate
Direction: Higher values generally less favorable
Uncertainty: 95% confidence interval as published by CDC (method changed beginning with the 2023 release)
Reference periods: PLACES 2023 release (BRFSS 2021); PLACES 2024 release (BRFSS 2022); PLACES 2025 release (BRFSS 2023)
Geographic coverage: All 254 Texas counties (individual values may be missing or suppressed)
Demographic applicability: PLACES county estimates are not stratified by demographic group.
Missing / suppression policy: CDC suppresses counties with population under 50 (shown hatched with CDC’s reason); never treated as zero.
Historical comparability: CDC states the model does not support tracking change over time. Each release is its own series and is never charted as a trend.
Release / version: CDC PLACES county data, 2023 release (data.cdc.gov h3ej-a9ec); CDC PLACES county data, 2024 release (data.cdc.gov fu4u-a9bh); CDC PLACES county data, 2025 release (data.cdc.gov swc5-untb)
Attribution & redistribution: data.cdc.gov lists each county dataset as Public Domain. Suggested citation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. PLACES: Local Data for Better Health. Accessed 2026-10-17. https://www.cdc.gov/places
Caveat: Self-reported diagnosis, modeled to counties. Not incidence.

Stroke among adultsPrevalenceModeled estimateVerified data

Indicator ID: stroke
Categories: Cardiovascular Disease, Neurological Conditions
Dataset / publisher: PLACES: Local Data for Better Health (county data) — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Source measure ID: STROKE (CrdPrv)
Definition: Adults aged 18+ who report ever being told by a health professional that they had a stroke.
Unit: Percent of population
Numerator: Respondents reporting the condition (modeled)
Denominator: Adults aged 18+
Age adjustment: Crude prevalence (PLACES data value type CrdPrv). PLACES also publishes age-adjusted prevalence (AgeAdjPrv), which CDC suggests for comparing counties with different age structures; it is not loaded in this build.
Observed vs modeled: Modeled estimate
Direction: Higher values generally less favorable
Uncertainty: 95% confidence interval as published by CDC (method changed beginning with the 2023 release)
Reference periods: PLACES 2023 release (BRFSS 2021); PLACES 2024 release (BRFSS 2022); PLACES 2025 release (BRFSS 2023)
Geographic coverage: All 254 Texas counties (individual values may be missing or suppressed)
Demographic applicability: PLACES county estimates are not stratified by demographic group.
Missing / suppression policy: CDC suppresses counties with population under 50 (shown hatched with CDC’s reason); never treated as zero.
Historical comparability: CDC states the model does not support tracking change over time. Each release is its own series and is never charted as a trend.
Release / version: CDC PLACES county data, 2023 release (data.cdc.gov h3ej-a9ec); CDC PLACES county data, 2024 release (data.cdc.gov fu4u-a9bh); CDC PLACES county data, 2025 release (data.cdc.gov swc5-untb)
Attribution & redistribution: data.cdc.gov lists each county dataset as Public Domain. Suggested citation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. PLACES: Local Data for Better Health. Accessed 2026-10-17. https://www.cdc.gov/places
Caveat: Related measure for neurological conditions; it does not measure any other neurological disorder.

High blood pressure among adultsRisk factors & social determinantsModeled estimateVerified data

Indicator ID: bphigh
Categories: Cardiovascular Disease, Kidney Disease
Dataset / publisher: PLACES: Local Data for Better Health (county data) — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Source measure ID: BPHIGH (CrdPrv)
Definition: Adults aged 18+ who report being told by a health professional that they have high blood pressure.
Unit: Percent of population
Numerator: Respondents reporting the condition (modeled)
Denominator: Adults aged 18+
Age adjustment: Crude prevalence (PLACES data value type CrdPrv). PLACES also publishes age-adjusted prevalence (AgeAdjPrv), which CDC suggests for comparing counties with different age structures; it is not loaded in this build.
Observed vs modeled: Modeled estimate
Direction: Higher values generally less favorable
Uncertainty: 95% confidence interval as published by CDC (method changed beginning with the 2023 release)
Reference periods: PLACES 2023 release (BRFSS 2021); PLACES 2024 release (BRFSS 2021 (asked in odd years)); PLACES 2025 release (BRFSS 2023)
Geographic coverage: All 254 Texas counties (individual values may be missing or suppressed)
Demographic applicability: PLACES county estimates are not stratified by demographic group.
Missing / suppression policy: CDC suppresses counties with population under 50 (shown hatched with CDC’s reason); never treated as zero.
Historical comparability: CDC states the model does not support tracking change over time. Each release is its own series and is never charted as a trend.
Release / version: CDC PLACES county data, 2023 release (data.cdc.gov h3ej-a9ec); CDC PLACES county data, 2024 release (data.cdc.gov fu4u-a9bh); CDC PLACES county data, 2025 release (data.cdc.gov swc5-untb)
Attribution & redistribution: data.cdc.gov lists each county dataset as Public Domain. Suggested citation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. PLACES: Local Data for Better Health. Accessed 2026-10-17. https://www.cdc.gov/places
Caveat: A risk factor, not a measure of cardiovascular or kidney disease itself.

Cancer history (non-skin cancer or melanoma) among adultsPrevalenceModeled estimateVerified data

Indicator ID: cancer-history
Categories: Cancer
Dataset / publisher: PLACES: Local Data for Better Health (county data) — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Source measure ID: CANCER (CrdPrv)
Definition: Adults aged 18+ who report ever being told they had cancer (non-skin) or melanoma. Measures history of diagnosis, not new cases.
Unit: Percent of population
Numerator: Respondents reporting the history (modeled)
Denominator: Adults aged 18+
Age adjustment: Crude prevalence (PLACES data value type CrdPrv). PLACES also publishes age-adjusted prevalence (AgeAdjPrv), which CDC suggests for comparing counties with different age structures; it is not loaded in this build.
Observed vs modeled: Modeled estimate
Direction: Higher values generally less favorable
Uncertainty: 95% confidence interval as published by CDC (method changed beginning with the 2023 release)
Reference periods: PLACES 2023 release (BRFSS 2021); PLACES 2024 release (BRFSS 2022); PLACES 2025 release (BRFSS 2023)
Geographic coverage: All 254 Texas counties (individual values may be missing or suppressed)
Demographic applicability: PLACES county estimates are not stratified by demographic group.
Missing / suppression policy: CDC suppresses counties with population under 50 (shown hatched with CDC’s reason); never treated as zero.
Historical comparability: CDC states the model does not support tracking change over time. Each release is its own series and is never charted as a trend.
Release / version: CDC PLACES county data, 2023 release (data.cdc.gov h3ej-a9ec); CDC PLACES county data, 2024 release (data.cdc.gov fu4u-a9bh); CDC PLACES county data, 2025 release (data.cdc.gov swc5-untb)
Attribution & redistribution: data.cdc.gov lists each county dataset as Public Domain. Suggested citation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. PLACES: Local Data for Better Health. Accessed 2026-10-17. https://www.cdc.gov/places
Caveat: This is NOT cancer incidence or mortality. Higher values can reflect survivorship and older populations. CDC labelled this measure “Cancer (excluding skin cancer)” in the 2023 release and “Cancer (non-skin) or melanoma” from 2024.

Cancer incidence, all sites (age-adjusted)IncidenceObserved (registry cases)Verified data

Indicator ID: cancer-inc-all
Categories: Cancer
Dataset / publisher: Texas Cancer Registry county incidence (via State Cancer Profiles) — Texas Department of State Health Services, Texas Cancer Registry; published by the National Cancer Institute and CDC (State Cancer Profiles, SEER submission)
Source measure ID: State Cancer Profiles incidence, All Cancer Sites (code 001), both sexes
Definition: New invasive cancer cases of any site per 100,000 people per year, 2019–2023 average, age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population.
Unit: age-adjusted new cases per 100,000
Numerator: New invasive cancer cases (5-year total)
Denominator: Total population (person-years)
Age adjustment: Age-adjusted (2000 U.S. standard population)
Observed vs modeled: Observed (registry cases)
Direction: Higher values generally less favorable
Uncertainty: 95% confidence interval as published by State Cancer Profiles
Reference periods: 2019–2023 (5-year average) (Diagnoses 2019–2023)
Geographic coverage: All 254 Texas counties (individual values may be missing or suppressed)
Demographic applicability: All races (includes Hispanic), all ages. State Cancer Profiles also publishes rates by race/ethnicity, sex and age; only the overall rate is shown.
Missing / suppression policy: Counties with fewer than 16 cases are suppressed by State Cancer Profiles (shown hatched with the reason); never treated as zero.
Historical comparability: Only one 5-year period is loaded; overlapping periods are not charted as a trend. The Texas benchmark is the published statewide rate with the same definition.
Release / version: State Cancer Profiles incidence, 2019–2023 (Texas Cancer Registry, SEER November 2025 submission)
Attribution & redistribution: NCI states its information is free of copyright and may be reused with credit to NCI. TCR requests this acknowledgement: “Texas cancer data have been provided by TCR, the Cancer Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch, Texas Department of State Health Services, 1100 West 49th Street, Austin, TX 78756. Data from TCR is supported by the following: Cooperative Agreement #1NU58DP007140 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Contract #75N91021D00011 from the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program, and the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT).”
Caveat: Incidence depends on screening and diagnosis as well as underlying risk. Rates for small counties are unstable; check the confidence interval.

Lung and bronchus cancer incidence (age-adjusted)IncidenceObserved (registry cases)Verified data

Indicator ID: cancer-inc-lung
Categories: Cancer, Respiratory Diseases
Dataset / publisher: Texas Cancer Registry county incidence (via State Cancer Profiles) — Texas Department of State Health Services, Texas Cancer Registry; published by the National Cancer Institute and CDC (State Cancer Profiles, SEER submission)
Source measure ID: State Cancer Profiles incidence, Lung & Bronchus (code 047), both sexes
Definition: New invasive lung and bronchus cancer cases per 100,000 people per year, 2019–2023 average, age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population.
Unit: age-adjusted new cases per 100,000
Numerator: New invasive cancer cases (5-year total)
Denominator: Total population (person-years)
Age adjustment: Age-adjusted (2000 U.S. standard population)
Observed vs modeled: Observed (registry cases)
Direction: Higher values generally less favorable
Uncertainty: 95% confidence interval as published by State Cancer Profiles
Reference periods: 2019–2023 (5-year average) (Diagnoses 2019–2023)
Geographic coverage: All 254 Texas counties (individual values may be missing or suppressed)
Demographic applicability: All races (includes Hispanic), all ages. State Cancer Profiles also publishes rates by race/ethnicity, sex and age; only the overall rate is shown.
Missing / suppression policy: Counties with fewer than 16 cases are suppressed by State Cancer Profiles (shown hatched with the reason); never treated as zero.
Historical comparability: Only one 5-year period is loaded; overlapping periods are not charted as a trend. The Texas benchmark is the published statewide rate with the same definition.
Release / version: State Cancer Profiles incidence, 2019–2023 (Texas Cancer Registry, SEER November 2025 submission)
Attribution & redistribution: NCI states its information is free of copyright and may be reused with credit to NCI. TCR requests this acknowledgement: “Texas cancer data have been provided by TCR, the Cancer Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch, Texas Department of State Health Services, 1100 West 49th Street, Austin, TX 78756. Data from TCR is supported by the following: Cooperative Agreement #1NU58DP007140 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Contract #75N91021D00011 from the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program, and the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT).”
Caveat: Incidence depends on screening and diagnosis as well as underlying risk. Rates for small counties are unstable; check the confidence interval.

Colorectal cancer incidence (age-adjusted)IncidenceObserved (registry cases)Verified data

Indicator ID: cancer-inc-crc
Categories: Cancer
Dataset / publisher: Texas Cancer Registry county incidence (via State Cancer Profiles) — Texas Department of State Health Services, Texas Cancer Registry; published by the National Cancer Institute and CDC (State Cancer Profiles, SEER submission)
Source measure ID: State Cancer Profiles incidence, Colon & Rectum (code 020), both sexes
Definition: New invasive colon and rectum cancer cases per 100,000 people per year, 2019–2023 average, age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population.
Unit: age-adjusted new cases per 100,000
Numerator: New invasive cancer cases (5-year total)
Denominator: Total population (person-years)
Age adjustment: Age-adjusted (2000 U.S. standard population)
Observed vs modeled: Observed (registry cases)
Direction: Higher values generally less favorable
Uncertainty: 95% confidence interval as published by State Cancer Profiles
Reference periods: 2019–2023 (5-year average) (Diagnoses 2019–2023)
Geographic coverage: All 254 Texas counties (individual values may be missing or suppressed)
Demographic applicability: All races (includes Hispanic), all ages. State Cancer Profiles also publishes rates by race/ethnicity, sex and age; only the overall rate is shown.
Missing / suppression policy: Counties with fewer than 16 cases are suppressed by State Cancer Profiles (shown hatched with the reason); never treated as zero.
Historical comparability: Only one 5-year period is loaded; overlapping periods are not charted as a trend. The Texas benchmark is the published statewide rate with the same definition.
Release / version: State Cancer Profiles incidence, 2019–2023 (Texas Cancer Registry, SEER November 2025 submission)
Attribution & redistribution: NCI states its information is free of copyright and may be reused with credit to NCI. TCR requests this acknowledgement: “Texas cancer data have been provided by TCR, the Cancer Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch, Texas Department of State Health Services, 1100 West 49th Street, Austin, TX 78756. Data from TCR is supported by the following: Cooperative Agreement #1NU58DP007140 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Contract #75N91021D00011 from the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program, and the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT).”
Caveat: Incidence depends on screening and diagnosis as well as underlying risk. Rates for small counties are unstable; check the confidence interval.

Female breast cancer incidence (age-adjusted)IncidenceObserved (registry cases)Verified data

Indicator ID: cancer-inc-breast
Categories: Cancer
Dataset / publisher: Texas Cancer Registry county incidence (via State Cancer Profiles) — Texas Department of State Health Services, Texas Cancer Registry; published by the National Cancer Institute and CDC (State Cancer Profiles, SEER submission)
Source measure ID: State Cancer Profiles incidence, Breast (code 055), female
Definition: New invasive breast cancer cases among females per 100,000 females per year, 2019–2023 average, age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population.
Unit: age-adjusted new cases per 100,000
Numerator: New invasive cancer cases (5-year total)
Denominator: Female population (person-years)
Age adjustment: Age-adjusted (2000 U.S. standard population)
Observed vs modeled: Observed (registry cases)
Direction: Higher values generally less favorable
Uncertainty: 95% confidence interval as published by State Cancer Profiles
Reference periods: 2019–2023 (5-year average) (Diagnoses 2019–2023)
Geographic coverage: All 254 Texas counties (individual values may be missing or suppressed)
Demographic applicability: All races (includes Hispanic), all ages. State Cancer Profiles also publishes rates by race/ethnicity, sex and age; only the overall rate is shown.
Missing / suppression policy: Counties with fewer than 16 cases are suppressed by State Cancer Profiles (shown hatched with the reason); never treated as zero.
Historical comparability: Only one 5-year period is loaded; overlapping periods are not charted as a trend. The Texas benchmark is the published statewide rate with the same definition.
Release / version: State Cancer Profiles incidence, 2019–2023 (Texas Cancer Registry, SEER November 2025 submission)
Attribution & redistribution: NCI states its information is free of copyright and may be reused with credit to NCI. TCR requests this acknowledgement: “Texas cancer data have been provided by TCR, the Cancer Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch, Texas Department of State Health Services, 1100 West 49th Street, Austin, TX 78756. Data from TCR is supported by the following: Cooperative Agreement #1NU58DP007140 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Contract #75N91021D00011 from the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program, and the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT).”
Caveat: Incidence depends on screening and diagnosis as well as underlying risk. Rates for small counties are unstable; check the confidence interval. Female only; screening (mammography) rates strongly affect diagnosed incidence.

Prostate cancer incidence (age-adjusted)IncidenceObserved (registry cases)Verified data

Indicator ID: cancer-inc-prostate
Categories: Cancer
Dataset / publisher: Texas Cancer Registry county incidence (via State Cancer Profiles) — Texas Department of State Health Services, Texas Cancer Registry; published by the National Cancer Institute and CDC (State Cancer Profiles, SEER submission)
Source measure ID: State Cancer Profiles incidence, Prostate (code 066), male
Definition: New invasive prostate cancer cases among males per 100,000 males per year, 2019–2023 average, age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population.
Unit: age-adjusted new cases per 100,000
Numerator: New invasive cancer cases (5-year total)
Denominator: Male population (person-years)
Age adjustment: Age-adjusted (2000 U.S. standard population)
Observed vs modeled: Observed (registry cases)
Direction: Higher values generally less favorable
Uncertainty: 95% confidence interval as published by State Cancer Profiles
Reference periods: 2019–2023 (5-year average) (Diagnoses 2019–2023)
Geographic coverage: All 254 Texas counties (individual values may be missing or suppressed)
Demographic applicability: All races (includes Hispanic), all ages. State Cancer Profiles also publishes rates by race/ethnicity, sex and age; only the overall rate is shown.
Missing / suppression policy: Counties with fewer than 16 cases are suppressed by State Cancer Profiles (shown hatched with the reason); never treated as zero.
Historical comparability: Only one 5-year period is loaded; overlapping periods are not charted as a trend. The Texas benchmark is the published statewide rate with the same definition.
Release / version: State Cancer Profiles incidence, 2019–2023 (Texas Cancer Registry, SEER November 2025 submission)
Attribution & redistribution: NCI states its information is free of copyright and may be reused with credit to NCI. TCR requests this acknowledgement: “Texas cancer data have been provided by TCR, the Cancer Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch, Texas Department of State Health Services, 1100 West 49th Street, Austin, TX 78756. Data from TCR is supported by the following: Cooperative Agreement #1NU58DP007140 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Contract #75N91021D00011 from the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program, and the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT).”
Caveat: Incidence depends on screening and diagnosis as well as underlying risk. Rates for small counties are unstable; check the confidence interval. Male only; PSA screening practice strongly affects diagnosed incidence.

Diagnosed diabetes among adultsPrevalenceModeled estimateVerified data

Indicator ID: diabetes
Categories: Diabetes
Dataset / publisher: PLACES: Local Data for Better Health (county data) — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Source measure ID: DIABETES (CrdPrv)
Definition: Adults aged 18+ who report being told by a health professional that they have diabetes (excluding pregnancy-related).
Unit: Percent of population
Numerator: Respondents reporting diagnosed diabetes (modeled)
Denominator: Adults aged 18+
Age adjustment: Crude prevalence (PLACES data value type CrdPrv). PLACES also publishes age-adjusted prevalence (AgeAdjPrv), which CDC suggests for comparing counties with different age structures; it is not loaded in this build.
Observed vs modeled: Modeled estimate
Direction: Higher values generally less favorable
Uncertainty: 95% confidence interval as published by CDC (method changed beginning with the 2023 release)
Reference periods: PLACES 2023 release (BRFSS 2021); PLACES 2024 release (BRFSS 2022); PLACES 2025 release (BRFSS 2023)
Geographic coverage: All 254 Texas counties (individual values may be missing or suppressed)
Demographic applicability: PLACES county estimates are not stratified by demographic group.
Missing / suppression policy: CDC suppresses counties with population under 50 (shown hatched with CDC’s reason); never treated as zero.
Historical comparability: CDC states the model does not support tracking change over time. Each release is its own series and is never charted as a trend.
Release / version: CDC PLACES county data, 2023 release (data.cdc.gov h3ej-a9ec); CDC PLACES county data, 2024 release (data.cdc.gov fu4u-a9bh); CDC PLACES county data, 2025 release (data.cdc.gov swc5-untb)
Attribution & redistribution: data.cdc.gov lists each county dataset as Public Domain. Suggested citation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. PLACES: Local Data for Better Health. Accessed 2026-10-17. https://www.cdc.gov/places
Caveat: Excludes undiagnosed diabetes.

Current asthma among adultsPrevalenceModeled estimateVerified data

Indicator ID: asthma
Categories: Respiratory Diseases
Dataset / publisher: PLACES: Local Data for Better Health (county data) — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Source measure ID: CASTHMA (CrdPrv)
Definition: Adults aged 18+ who report ever being told they had asthma and still have asthma.
Unit: Percent of population
Numerator: Respondents reporting current asthma (modeled)
Denominator: Adults aged 18+
Age adjustment: Crude prevalence (PLACES data value type CrdPrv). PLACES also publishes age-adjusted prevalence (AgeAdjPrv), which CDC suggests for comparing counties with different age structures; it is not loaded in this build.
Observed vs modeled: Modeled estimate
Direction: Higher values generally less favorable
Uncertainty: 95% confidence interval as published by CDC (method changed beginning with the 2023 release)
Reference periods: PLACES 2023 release (BRFSS 2021); PLACES 2024 release (BRFSS 2022); PLACES 2025 release (BRFSS 2023)
Geographic coverage: All 254 Texas counties (individual values may be missing or suppressed)
Demographic applicability: PLACES county estimates are not stratified by demographic group.
Missing / suppression policy: CDC suppresses counties with population under 50 (shown hatched with CDC’s reason); never treated as zero.
Historical comparability: CDC states the model does not support tracking change over time. Each release is its own series and is never charted as a trend.
Release / version: CDC PLACES county data, 2023 release (data.cdc.gov h3ej-a9ec); CDC PLACES county data, 2024 release (data.cdc.gov fu4u-a9bh); CDC PLACES county data, 2025 release (data.cdc.gov swc5-untb)
Attribution & redistribution: data.cdc.gov lists each county dataset as Public Domain. Suggested citation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. PLACES: Local Data for Better Health. Accessed 2026-10-17. https://www.cdc.gov/places
Caveat: Adults only; childhood asthma is not represented.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease among adultsPrevalenceModeled estimateVerified data

Indicator ID: copd
Categories: Respiratory Diseases
Dataset / publisher: PLACES: Local Data for Better Health (county data) — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Source measure ID: COPD (CrdPrv)
Definition: Adults aged 18+ who report ever being told they had COPD, emphysema or chronic bronchitis.
Unit: Percent of population
Numerator: Respondents reporting the condition (modeled)
Denominator: Adults aged 18+
Age adjustment: Crude prevalence (PLACES data value type CrdPrv). PLACES also publishes age-adjusted prevalence (AgeAdjPrv), which CDC suggests for comparing counties with different age structures; it is not loaded in this build.
Observed vs modeled: Modeled estimate
Direction: Higher values generally less favorable
Uncertainty: 95% confidence interval as published by CDC (method changed beginning with the 2023 release)
Reference periods: PLACES 2023 release (BRFSS 2021); PLACES 2024 release (BRFSS 2022); PLACES 2025 release (BRFSS 2023)
Geographic coverage: All 254 Texas counties (individual values may be missing or suppressed)
Demographic applicability: PLACES county estimates are not stratified by demographic group.
Missing / suppression policy: CDC suppresses counties with population under 50 (shown hatched with CDC’s reason); never treated as zero.
Historical comparability: CDC states the model does not support tracking change over time. Each release is its own series and is never charted as a trend.
Release / version: CDC PLACES county data, 2023 release (data.cdc.gov h3ej-a9ec); CDC PLACES county data, 2024 release (data.cdc.gov fu4u-a9bh); CDC PLACES county data, 2025 release (data.cdc.gov swc5-untb)
Attribution & redistribution: data.cdc.gov lists each county dataset as Public Domain. Suggested citation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. PLACES: Local Data for Better Health. Accessed 2026-10-17. https://www.cdc.gov/places
Caveat: Self-reported diagnosis; under-diagnosis is common.

Chronic kidney disease among adults (historical)PrevalenceModeled estimateVerified data

Indicator ID: ckd
Categories: Kidney Disease
Dataset / publisher: PLACES: Local Data for Better Health (county data) — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Source measure ID: KIDNEY (CrdPrv; 2023 release only)
Definition: Adults aged 18+ who report being told they have kidney disease (2023 PLACES release, 2021 BRFSS).
Unit: Percent of population
Numerator: Respondents reporting the condition (modeled)
Denominator: Adults aged 18+
Age adjustment: Crude prevalence (PLACES data value type CrdPrv). PLACES also publishes age-adjusted prevalence (AgeAdjPrv), which CDC suggests for comparing counties with different age structures; it is not loaded in this build.
Observed vs modeled: Modeled estimate
Direction: Higher values generally less favorable
Uncertainty: 95% confidence interval as published by CDC (method changed beginning with the 2023 release)
Reference periods: PLACES 2023 release (BRFSS 2021)
Geographic coverage: All 254 Texas counties (individual values may be missing or suppressed)
Demographic applicability: PLACES county estimates are not stratified by demographic group.
Missing / suppression policy: CDC suppresses counties with population under 50 (shown hatched with CDC’s reason); never treated as zero.
Historical comparability: CDC states the model does not support tracking change over time. Each release is its own series and is never charted as a trend.
Release / version: CDC PLACES county data, 2023 release (data.cdc.gov h3ej-a9ec)
Attribution & redistribution: data.cdc.gov lists each county dataset as Public Domain. Suggested citation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. PLACES: Local Data for Better Health. Accessed 2026-10-17. https://www.cdc.gov/places
Caveat: Historical only: CDC discontinued this measure beginning with the 2024 PLACES release, and it is absent from the 2024 and 2025 county files. No current county measure is verified.

Obesity among adultsRisk factors & social determinantsModeled estimateVerified data

Indicator ID: obesity
Categories: Obesity
Dataset / publisher: PLACES: Local Data for Better Health (county data) — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Source measure ID: OBESITY (CrdPrv)
Definition: Adults aged 18+ with body mass index ≥ 30 kg/m², based on self-reported height and weight.
Unit: Percent of population
Numerator: Respondents with BMI ≥ 30 (modeled)
Denominator: Adults aged 18+ with BMI data
Age adjustment: Crude prevalence (PLACES data value type CrdPrv). PLACES also publishes age-adjusted prevalence (AgeAdjPrv), which CDC suggests for comparing counties with different age structures; it is not loaded in this build.
Observed vs modeled: Modeled estimate
Direction: Higher values generally less favorable
Uncertainty: 95% confidence interval as published by CDC (method changed beginning with the 2023 release)
Reference periods: PLACES 2023 release (BRFSS 2021); PLACES 2024 release (BRFSS 2022); PLACES 2025 release (BRFSS 2023)
Geographic coverage: All 254 Texas counties (individual values may be missing or suppressed)
Demographic applicability: PLACES county estimates are not stratified by demographic group.
Missing / suppression policy: CDC suppresses counties with population under 50 (shown hatched with CDC’s reason); never treated as zero.
Historical comparability: CDC states the model does not support tracking change over time. Each release is its own series and is never charted as a trend.
Release / version: CDC PLACES county data, 2023 release (data.cdc.gov h3ej-a9ec); CDC PLACES county data, 2024 release (data.cdc.gov fu4u-a9bh); CDC PLACES county data, 2025 release (data.cdc.gov swc5-untb)
Attribution & redistribution: data.cdc.gov lists each county dataset as Public Domain. Suggested citation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. PLACES: Local Data for Better Health. Accessed 2026-10-17. https://www.cdc.gov/places
Caveat: BMI is a population screening measure and does not diagnose individual health.

Depression among adultsPrevalenceModeled estimateVerified data

Indicator ID: depression
Categories: Mental Health
Dataset / publisher: PLACES: Local Data for Better Health (county data) — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Source measure ID: DEPRESSION (CrdPrv)
Definition: Adults aged 18+ who report ever being told they have a depressive disorder.
Unit: Percent of population
Numerator: Respondents reporting the diagnosis (modeled)
Denominator: Adults aged 18+
Age adjustment: Crude prevalence (PLACES data value type CrdPrv). PLACES also publishes age-adjusted prevalence (AgeAdjPrv), which CDC suggests for comparing counties with different age structures; it is not loaded in this build.
Observed vs modeled: Modeled estimate
Direction: Higher values generally less favorable
Uncertainty: 95% confidence interval as published by CDC (method changed beginning with the 2023 release)
Reference periods: PLACES 2023 release (BRFSS 2021); PLACES 2024 release (BRFSS 2022); PLACES 2025 release (BRFSS 2023)
Geographic coverage: All 254 Texas counties (individual values may be missing or suppressed)
Demographic applicability: PLACES county estimates are not stratified by demographic group.
Missing / suppression policy: CDC suppresses counties with population under 50 (shown hatched with CDC’s reason); never treated as zero.
Historical comparability: CDC states the model does not support tracking change over time. Each release is its own series and is never charted as a trend.
Release / version: CDC PLACES county data, 2023 release (data.cdc.gov h3ej-a9ec); CDC PLACES county data, 2024 release (data.cdc.gov fu4u-a9bh); CDC PLACES county data, 2025 release (data.cdc.gov swc5-untb)
Attribution & redistribution: data.cdc.gov lists each county dataset as Public Domain. Suggested citation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. PLACES: Local Data for Better Health. Accessed 2026-10-17. https://www.cdc.gov/places
Caveat: Lifetime diagnosis; depends on access to diagnosis. Does not capture all mental health conditions.

Frequent mental distress among adultsRisk factors & social determinantsModeled estimateVerified data

Indicator ID: mhlth
Categories: Mental Health
Dataset / publisher: PLACES: Local Data for Better Health (county data) — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Source measure ID: MHLTH (CrdPrv)
Definition: Adults aged 18+ reporting 14 or more days of poor mental health in the past 30 days.
Unit: Percent of population
Numerator: Respondents reporting ≥14 poor mental health days (modeled)
Denominator: Adults aged 18+
Age adjustment: Crude prevalence (PLACES data value type CrdPrv). PLACES also publishes age-adjusted prevalence (AgeAdjPrv), which CDC suggests for comparing counties with different age structures; it is not loaded in this build.
Observed vs modeled: Modeled estimate
Direction: Higher values generally less favorable
Uncertainty: 95% confidence interval as published by CDC (method changed beginning with the 2023 release)
Reference periods: PLACES 2023 release (BRFSS 2021); PLACES 2024 release (BRFSS 2022); PLACES 2025 release (BRFSS 2023)
Geographic coverage: All 254 Texas counties (individual values may be missing or suppressed)
Demographic applicability: PLACES county estimates are not stratified by demographic group.
Missing / suppression policy: CDC suppresses counties with population under 50 (shown hatched with CDC’s reason); never treated as zero.
Historical comparability: CDC states the model does not support tracking change over time. Each release is its own series and is never charted as a trend.
Release / version: CDC PLACES county data, 2023 release (data.cdc.gov h3ej-a9ec); CDC PLACES county data, 2024 release (data.cdc.gov fu4u-a9bh); CDC PLACES county data, 2025 release (data.cdc.gov swc5-untb)
Attribution & redistribution: data.cdc.gov lists each county dataset as Public Domain. Suggested citation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. PLACES: Local Data for Better Health. Accessed 2026-10-17. https://www.cdc.gov/places
Caveat: A measure of self-reported distress, not a diagnosis. Labelled “Mental health not good for ≥14 days” in the 2023 release.

Heart disease death rate, adults 35+ (age-standardized)MortalityObserved (vital records)Verified data

Indicator ID: hd-mort
Categories: Cardiovascular Disease
Dataset / publisher: Heart Disease Mortality Data Among US Adults (35+) by State/Territory and County — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention (data: National Vital Statistics System)
Source measure ID: CDC Atlas topic T2, Heart Disease Mortality (ICD-10 I00–I09, I11, I13, I20–I51)
Definition: Deaths among adults aged 35+ with heart disease as the underlying cause, per 100,000 adults 35+, age-standardized to the 2000 U.S. standard population, averaged over 2022–2024 and spatially smoothed by CDC.
Unit: age-adjusted deaths per 100,000
Numerator: Heart disease deaths among adults 35+ (3-year total)
Denominator: Adults 35+ (population-years)
Age adjustment: Age-adjusted (2000 U.S. standard population)
Observed vs modeled: Observed (vital records)
Direction: Higher values generally less favorable
Uncertainty: CDC publishes no confidence intervals for these smoothed rates
Reference periods: 2022–2024 (3-year average) (Deaths 2022–2024)
Geographic coverage: All 254 Texas counties (individual values may be missing or suppressed)
Demographic applicability: CDC also publishes rates by sex and race/ethnicity; only the overall rate is shown in this build.
Missing / suppression policy: Counties where CDC could not generate a reliable rate are shown as suppressed with CDC’s reason; never treated as zero.
Historical comparability: Only one 3-year period is loaded; overlapping 3-year periods are not charted as a trend.
Release / version: CDC heart disease mortality county data, 2022–2024 (data.cdc.gov mri7-5jtw)
Attribution & redistribution: CDC states most of its material is public domain and may be reused with attribution to CDC, a non-endorsement disclaimer, no change to substantive content, and a note that it is available free on CDC’s website.
Caveat: Spatial smoothing means each county’s rate is partly informed by its neighbours, which steadies small-county rates but can blur sharp local differences. Covers adults 35+ only.

Primary care Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) designationHealthcare accessAdministrative designationVerified data

Indicator ID: hpsa-pc
Categories: Healthcare Access & Social Context
Dataset / publisher: Health Professional Shortage Areas — Primary Care (all HPSAs) — Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Bureau of Health Workforce, Division of Policy and Shortage Designation
Source measure ID: BCD_HPSA_FCT_DET_PC: Designation Type × HPSA Component Type × HPSA Status (Designated or Proposed For Withdrawal)
Definition: How much of the county HRSA has designated as a primary care Health Professional Shortage Area: the whole county as a geographic area, the whole county for a population group (such as low-income residents), part of the county (census tracts or county subdivisions), or none.
Unit: designation category
Numerator: Not applicable (category)
Denominator: Not applicable (category)
Age adjustment: Not applicable
Observed vs modeled: Administrative designation
Direction: Higher values generally less favorable
Uncertainty: None reported: designations are administrative decisions, not estimates
Reference periods: Designations as of 18 Oct 2026 (Designation status on 2026-10-18)
Geographic coverage: All 254 Texas counties (individual values may be missing or suppressed)
Demographic applicability: Population-group HPSAs cover a group such as low-income residents; no other breakdown is available.
Missing / suppression policy: Every county has a category; “no designation” is HRSA’s record, not missing data. It does not mean there is no shortage.
Historical comparability: A single dated snapshot; designations change as HRSA reviews them, so other dates may differ.
Release / version: HRSA Data Warehouse, HPSA – Primary Care: All HPSAs (BCD_HPSA_FCT_DET_PC), daily snapshot of 2026-10-18
Attribution & redistribution: HRSA’s Data Warehouse lists “Usage limitations: None” for the HPSA files. Designations are U.S. Government work. Only designation status is republished; HRSA’s provider FTE and ratio fields are not used.
Caveat: Shown in place of primary care physicians per 100,000, which cannot be republished (HRSA AHRF physician counts are copyrighted AMA data). Designation follows an application and HRSA review, so it reflects both need and whether anyone applied. Categories are ordered by how much of the county is designated, not by severity; HPSA scores are not shown. Facility HPSAs (e.g. health centers) are not counted.

Persons below the federal poverty levelRisk factors & social determinantsSurvey estimateVerified data

Indicator ID: poverty
Categories: Healthcare Access & Social Context
Dataset / publisher: American Community Survey 5-year estimates — U.S. Census Bureau
Source measure ID: ACS table B17001 (percent derived: below poverty ÷ poverty universe)
Definition: Share of people for whom poverty status is determined whose income is below the federal poverty threshold.
Unit: Percent of population
Numerator: People below poverty threshold
Denominator: People for whom poverty status is determined
Age adjustment: Not applicable
Observed vs modeled: Survey estimate
Direction: Context measure; no inherent direction
Uncertainty: 90% margin of error, derived from the published B17001 margins with the Census Bureau’s formula for derived proportions; shown as an interval
Reference periods: ACS 2020–2024 (5-year) (2020–2024 (pooled))
Geographic coverage: All 254 Texas counties (individual values may be missing or suppressed)
Demographic applicability: Age groups describe the population in poverty, not disease prevalence in that group.
Missing / suppression policy: Shown as missing (gray) with the reason; never treated as zero. Loving County has no under-18 population in the poverty universe.
Historical comparability: Overlapping 5-year periods should not be compared as a trend.
Release / version: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year Summary File, table B17001
Attribution & redistribution: U.S. federal statistical data; the Census Bureau asks users to cite its data (see citation guidance).
Caveat: A social determinant shown for context. Not a health outcome. Small counties have wide margins of error.

Years and periods

MedEquity distinguishes four kinds of time for every value:

Source release — when the publisher released the dataset (e.g. a PLACES release year). This is not when the data was collected.
Observation period — when the underlying survey, death records or counts were collected.
Population reference year — the population estimates used as denominators or model inputs.
Time interval — single year, or pooled periods such as three-year mortality or five-year ACS estimates.

Periods are grouped into comparability series. Trends are only drawn within one series. When a source changes its method, definitions or pooling, or when periods overlap (as consecutive ACS 5-year estimates do), the periods are placed in different series and never connected as a trend. PLACES releases are each their own series: CDC states the PLACES model does not support tracking change over time, so no PLACES trend is ever drawn.

Why data can be missing

Suppression. Publishers withhold values based on small counts to protect privacy and avoid unreliable rates. Rules are source-specific. MedEquity never shows, exports or allows a suppressed value to be recovered through differences or complementary cells.
Not reported. A source may not cover every county in every release.
Discontinued measures. Some measures (e.g. PLACES chronic kidney disease) exist only in historical releases.
No stratification. Many county estimates are not available by age, sex or race/ethnicity, so demographic filters only offer groups the source actually publishes.
No valid measure. Some categories (e.g. ALS or aphasia) have no county-level measure at all. MedEquity explains this rather than substituting an unrelated proxy.

Missing values are shown in gray with a hatched pattern, are listed with their reason, and are never treated as zero. A true zero (e.g. no physicians recorded) is displayed as 0.

Map classification

Maps use up to five quantile classes computed from reported counties for the selected period. Darker colours always mean higher values; whether higher is favorable depends on the indicator and is stated in the legend. Because classes are recalculated per map, colours are not comparable between indicators or periods. The palette is a single-hue sequential scale checked for colour-vision deficiency, and missing values use a pattern as well as colour. Every map has a searchable table alternative.

Statistical methods

Descriptive statistics: n, mean, sample SD (n − 1), median, interquartile range (type-7 quantiles), min, max. Unweighted across counties.
Pearson’s r: two-sided t-test with n − 2 degrees of freedom; 95% CI via Fisher’s z transformation (requires n > 3). Assumes independence and approximate bivariate normality; flagged when either variable has |skewness| > 1.
Spearman’s ρ: Pearson’s r on average ranks (ties averaged); two-sided p-value via the t approximation, withheld for n < 10. No CI reported.
Significance level: α = 0.05.
Multiple testing: Benjamini–Hochberg false-discovery-rate adjustment across all tests in one analysis (each Y variable × each method). Raw and adjusted p-values are both shown. BH does not correct for violated assumptions.
Missing data: complete-case exclusion per pair; excluded counties and reasons are listed.
Spatial dependence check: global Moran’s I with shared-boundary (contiguity) neighbours, row-standardised weights and a 999-permutation one-sided test (fixed seed for reproducibility). When both variables are spatially autocorrelated, inference is marked “qualified”.
Libraries: Student-t and normal distribution functions from jStat. Implementations are checked against reference values in tests/stats.test.ts.
Not offered: regression, causal estimates and county rankings.

No statewide benchmark is shown: the county files used here contain no statewide estimate with the same definition. Real benchmarks must come from the source’s own statewide estimate with the same definition, period and adjustment; an unweighted average of counties is not a statewide value.

Release & update history

Version	Date	Change
places-v2025.1 + heart-2022-2024.v1 + acs-2020-2024.v1	2026-10-18	Added real CDC county heart disease death rates (adults 35+, 2022–2024) and Census ACS 2020–2024 poverty (all ages, under 18, 65+). Primary care physicians withheld: AHRF/AMA data may not be republished without permission.
places-v2025.1	2026-10-17	Real CDC PLACES county estimates (crude prevalence) for 11 indicators from the 2023, 2024 and 2025 releases; chronic kidney disease from the 2023 release only. Each release is its own series (no trends). Non-PLACES indicators shown as not yet available.
demo-0.1	2026-10-17	Initial development build: 254-county boundary validation and synthetic demo data for 14 candidate indicators. No real data published.

Corrections log

No corrections have been issued. Found an error? Report a correction.

Open questions before public launch

Production indicator-to-source inventory, record completeness and exact release/observation years.
Unsuppressed Texas Cancer Registry county files (by request only) and CDC WONDER-derived values; suppression-safe exports.
Reliable current kidney disease and condition-specific neurological county measures.
Approved comparability series and statewide benchmark derivations.
Validated method-specific inferential gates, including spatial dependence and CI methods.
Article research, citations and editorial review; founder biography, logo and final fonts.
Hosting, contact, analytics and export provider terms.
Accessibility, performance and security thresholds; publication and privacy policies.