By Tara Mancini
Knowing where the uninsured children are is the first step toward connecting them with coverage. In our November brief on children’s health insurance coverage, we named the 20 counties with the highest number of uninsured children. I’ve uploaded all of the 1-year and 5-year American Community Survey (ACS) data into Google maps so that you can find estimates of uninsured children in your county. Below you’ll find information on how to use the maps and also the major differences between the 1 and 5-year data.
About the Maps
In each map you can hover your mouse over the darts to display the following data:
- The child population under 18
- The share of children in the county who are uninsured and the margin of error
- The share of children who are uninsured in the state overall and the margin of error
- Whether the rate of uninsured children in the county is higher, lower, or not statistically different (at the 90% confidence interval) from the rate of uninsured children in the state
Click the link below each map if you’d like to view it in a new window. You can then search for your county by name. Simply click on the map tab, filter by county and state, and then type in your county name.
One-year v. five-year ACS estimates
The first map contains 2012 1-year estimates, which the ACS produces for all geographic areas with a population of 65,000 or more. In 2012, this included 814 county and county equivalents1. The second map contains ACS estimates for all 3,143 counties and county equivalents in the US for the 5- year period between 2008-2012. The 5-year data are multi-year averages and cannot be used to determine what was happening in any particular year between 2008-2012. Which estimates you use depends on your needs. One-year estimates are more current but less reliable, while the reverse is true for the 5-year estimates2.
View the larger map here.
View the larger map here.
1. County equivalents include Alaska Boroughs, municipalities, and city and boroughs; Louisiana’s parishes and independent cities in Maryland, Missouri, Nevada and Virginia.
2. The American Community Survey also produces 3-year estimates, which are not shown here, but can be accessed through this link. Click here for more information from the Census Bureau on when to use the 1, 3, and 5-year estimates.
