Social vulnerability to disasters
How hard a disaster is likely to hit the people who live here. Counties are ranked from 0 (least) to 100 (most). The rank is built from ten facts about homes in the Census Bureau's survey: low income, disability, no health insurance, age 65 or older, no car, no internet, crowded homes, no one with a job, trouble with English, and one or no adult to care for others. So it mostly repeats other survey measures on this site. It is not new proof about them. It says nothing about which hazards a place faces.
Reported for3,144areas, in 51 states — none in PR
Link to density0.22not mostly about how urban a place is
Nearby places alike0.47Moran’s I: strongly, neighbouring places tend to be similar
Typeratepercentile (0-100)
How it has moved
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Every state, every year
Nothing to draw here: this measure has no state figures. Its publisher reports it for counties. This site does not add county numbers up into state figures, since a home-made figure could clash with one an agency publishes itself. The chart above covers the whole country, year by year.
Where it comes from
FEMA National Risk Index (Census and University of South Carolina indexes) · FEMA National Risk Index v1.20, NRI_Table_Counties, SOVI_SCORE
A national ranking of counties from 0 to 100. A ranking of a larger area cannot be worked out from the rankings of its parts.
Combining areas: it cannot be combined, so it is shown only where its publisher works it out.
What it goes with
The strongest links that have a page of their own. Unadjusted is the link before adjusting for anything, from −1 (opposite) to +1 (in step). Adjusted compares places with the same population density, income and education levels, so those differences can’t explain the link. This list leaves out the 118 pairs built from the same numbers or the same model as this measure, since they are bound to match.
| Measure | Unadjusted | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Social vulnerability to disasters and Material security scoreWhere Social vulnerability to disasters is higher, Material security score tends to be lower: a moderate link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Material security score by US county | -0.74 | -0.53 |
| Social vulnerability to disasters and Economic connectednessWhere Social vulnerability to disasters is higher, Economic connectedness tends to be lower: a moderate link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Economic connectedness by US county | -0.64 | -0.42 |
| Social vulnerability to disasters and Returns claiming the earned income creditWhere Social vulnerability to disasters is higher, Returns claiming the earned income credit tends to be higher: a moderate link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Returns claiming the earned income credit by US county | +0.67 | +0.42 |
| Social vulnerability to disasters and Average test scoreWhere Social vulnerability to disasters is higher, Average test score tends to be lower: a weak link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Average test score by US county | -0.63 | -0.38 |
| Social vulnerability to disasters and Winter nightly lowWhere Social vulnerability to disasters is higher, Winter nightly low tends to be higher: a weak link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared. Winter nightly low by US county | +0.39 | +0.36 |
| Social vulnerability to disasters and Social connection scoreWhere Social vulnerability to disasters is higher, Social connection score tends to be lower: a weak link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Social connection score by US county | -0.45 | -0.34 |
| Social vulnerability to disasters and Natural amenities scaleWhere Social vulnerability to disasters is higher, Natural amenities scale tends to be higher: a weak link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared. Natural amenities scale by US county | +0.15 | +0.31 |
| Social vulnerability to disasters and Adult income rank of children raised poor hereWhere Social vulnerability to disasters is higher, Adult income rank of children raised poor here tends to be lower: a weak link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Adult income rank of children raised poor here by US county | -0.40 | -0.31 |
| Social vulnerability to disasters and Unemployment rateWhere Social vulnerability to disasters is higher, Unemployment rate tends to be higher: a weak link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Unemployment rate by US county | +0.43 | +0.30 |
| Social vulnerability to disasters and Economic connectedness in high schoolLinked across counties, but mostly as both follow how urban, rich and educated a place is. Comparing only places with similar density, income and education, a weak link of -0.23 remains. Economic connectedness in high school by US county | -0.64 | -0.23 |
3 more pairs with social vulnerability to disasters have a page: Returns reporting capital gains · Economy score · Mobility score.
Population makeup
How this measure varies with the racial and ethnic makeup of counties. Every group is shown, whatever its rank. These are links across counties: they describe places, not people. They say nothing about any person’s risk or behaviour based on their race. Counties with a larger share of one group also differ in much else, such as income, segregation, region and history. The adjusted figure only accounts for density, income and education.
| Share of residents | Unadjusted | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Social vulnerability to disasters and Share White, not HispanicNot an independent finding: one is modelled from the other. It is an estimate from a statistical model that uses the other as an input, so part of the match is built in. Share White, not Hispanic by US county | -0.32 | -0.38 |
| Social vulnerability to disasters and Share Black, not HispanicNot an independent finding: one is modelled from the other. It is an estimate from a statistical model that uses the other as an input, so part of the match is built in. Share Black, not Hispanic by US county | +0.40 | +0.27 |
| Social vulnerability to disasters and Share Hispanic or Latino, any raceNot an independent finding: one is modelled from the other. It is an estimate from a statistical model that uses the other as an input, so part of the match is built in. Share Hispanic or Latino, any race by US county | +0.12 | +0.20 |
| Social vulnerability to disasters and Share Asian, not HispanicNot an independent finding: one is modelled from the other. It is an estimate from a statistical model that uses the other as an input, so part of the match is built in. Share Asian, not Hispanic by US county | -0.21 | +0.20 |
| Social vulnerability to disasters and Share American Indian or Alaska Native, not HispanicNot an independent finding: one is modelled from the other. It is an estimate from a statistical model that uses the other as an input, so part of the match is built in. Share American Indian or Alaska Native, not Hispanic by US county | +0.31 | +0.29 |
Highest and lowest
Of 3,144 counties reporting it. These are the two ends of a national ranking. For most measures, that ranking mostly sorts places by income and how urban they are. That is why the place pages compare each place with similar places instead.
Highest
- Kusilvak Census Area, AK — 100
- Bethel Census Area, AK — 100
- Nome Census Area, AK — 99.9
- Aleutians East Borough, AK — 99.9
- Martin County, KY — 99.9
Lowest
- Chattahoochee County, GA — 10.6
- Cherokee County, GA — 10.6
- Columbia County, GA — 10.6
- Douglas County, GA — 10.6
- Echols County, GA — 10.6
The middle area reports 50. The middle half of counties falls between 25 and 75 (the 25th to 75th percentile).
US Counties With the Highest Social Vulnerability to Disasters · US Counties With the Lowest Social Vulnerability to Disasters
All measures · Explore its pairs · How the US county data works