About the health equity data

This page provides general information about the health equity data and measures developed by the Minnesota Public Health Tracking Program. For more information about these data, email us at health.dataportal@state.mn.us.

Poverty

Data on the geographic distribution of poverty are taken from the 2017 American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

Learn more about the poverty data and look up how your neighborhood or county compares to the statewide average at Poverty in Minnesota counties or Poverty in Minnesota neighborhoods. See about the poverty & income data for more information on how poverty is defined and limitations of the poverty data.

Asthma

Hospitalization and emergency department (ED) data are extracted from Minnesota Hospital Discharge Data (MNHDD), which is maintained by the Minnesota Hospital Association (MHA). Emergency department data do not include data from federal and sovereign hospitals (e.g., Veteran's Administration, Indian Health Service) or data on Minnesota residents seen in facilities outside of Minnesota and North Dakota.

Learn more about the asthma data and for more data, view asthma emergency department visits.

Lead

Data on blood lead testing and elevated blood lead levels are provided by the MDH Lead & Healthy Homes Program, which implements the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (CLPPP), and are extracted from the Blood Lead Information System (BLIS).

Learn more about childhood lead exposure or see about the childhood lead exposure data to learn how elevated blood lead levels (EBLLs) are identified.

Poverty categories were calculated by comparing the 90% confidence interval of poverty in each geography (tract or county) to the 90% confidence interval for poverty statewide. Using difference from the mean methodology, geographies (tracts or counties) were classified as significantly different from MN if the intervals do not overlap – either higher than the state mean (average) or lower than the state – or as no different from the state if intervals overlap.

County poverty levels compared to Minnesota (MN) poverty level

 

Number of MN counties

Percent of MN counties

Lower than Minnesota

20

23%

Same as Minnesota

50

57%

Higher than Minnesota

17

20%

Source: 2017 American Community Survey 5-year estimates for children under 18 years of age by county of residence.

Neighborhood poverty levels compared to Minnesota (MN) poverty level

 

Number of MN census tracts

Percent of MN census tracts

Lower than Minnesota

457

34%

Same as Minnesota

734

55%

Higher than Minnesota

139

10%

Source: 2017 American Community Survey 5-year estimates for children under 5 years of age by census tract (neighborhood) of residence.