America's Health Rankings, United Health Foundation Logo

Summary

Low Disparities1

  • Between females2 and males2 for unemployment
  • Between Black3 and white3 for cancer
  • Between females3 and males3 for high health status

High Disparities

  • Between those with less than a high school education2 and college graduates3 for poverty
  • Between Black2 and Hispanic3 for premature death
  • Between those with less than a high school education2 and college graduates3 for high health status

[1] Low disparities within a state does not indicate that all populations are doing well. Consider rates in comparison to national averages.
[2] Rates worse than national average.
[3] Rates same or better than national average.

Highlights

  • 28% decrease in Infant Mortality in Black infants between 2003-2006 and 2015-2018 from 17.7 to 12.8 infant deaths (before age 1) per 1,000 live births
  • 38% decrease in those with a Less Than a High School Education in the female population between 2005-2009 and 2015-2019 from 14.6% to 9.1%
  • 30% decrease in Smoking in college graduates between 2011- 2013 and 2017-2019 from 8.8% to 6.2%
  • 19% increase in Excessive Drinking in female adults between 2011-2013 and 2017-2019 from 21.1% to 25.1%
  • 52% increase in Frequent Mental Distress in white adults between 2011-2013 and 2017-2019 from 5.2% to 7.9%
  • 32% increase in Physical Inactivity in adults with some college education between 2011-2013 and 2017-2019 from 20.7% to 27.3%

Trends

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Income Inequality

Income inequality measures the ratio of median household income of the 20% richest to the 20% poorest. A high ratio indicates greater income inequality. Research demonstrates an association between greater income disparity and poorer population health.
In the District of Columbia (DC), income inequality has decreased since 2011. DC’s ratio is currently higher than the national ratio.
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