US Social Determinants of Health Dataset

A comprehensive county-level dataset for analyzing social determinants of health across the United States, spanning from 1970 to present.

Overview

This dataset combines county-level data on social determinants of health from multiple authoritative sources, processed to provide consistent variable names across sources and years, with interpolation for missing years where appropriate and comprehensive data quality tracking.

Data Sources

• U.S. Census Bureau (Decennial Census, American Community Survey, Population Estimates Program)
• CDC PLACES (county-level health indicators)
• CDC WONDER (mortality data including transportation-related deaths)
• IPUMS NHGIS (harmonized time series data)
• FBI Uniform Crime Reports (crime and safety metrics)
• NHTSA FARS (Fatality Analysis Reporting System for traffic safety)
• USDA Food Environment Atlas (food access measures)
• EPA (environmental quality measures)
• HUD (housing statistics)
• HRSA (healthcare access measures)
• And many other specialized data sources

Data Structure

The database contains organized tables with standardized variables across multiple domains.

Summary of Variables by Domain

Domain	Number of Variables	Primary Data Sources
Demographics & Population	12	Census Bureau, IPUMS NHGIS
Economic Factors	11	Census ACS, BLS, Opportunity Insights
Education	8	Census ACS, NCES, Stanford Education Data Archive
Health Status	14	CDC PLACES, CDC WONDER
Healthcare Access	10	HRSA Area Health Resources Files, CMS
Housing	8	Census ACS, HUD CHAS, Eviction Lab
Environmental Health	15	EPA Air Quality System, CDC Environmental Public Health Tracking
Food Environment	7	USDA Food Environment Atlas, Feeding America
Transportation	7	Census ACS, National Transit Database
Traffic Safety	11	NHTSA FARS, CDC WONDER
Social Cohesion	7	Census ACS, County Health Rankings, MIT Election Data
Crime & Safety	5	FBI Uniform Crime Reports, Bureau of Justice Statistics
Built Environment	10	EPA Smart Location Database, Trust for Public Land
Disability	7	Census ACS
Health Behaviors	4	CDC PLACES
Total	136

The domains include:

• Demographics and Population: Population counts, age distribution, race/ethnicity
• Economic Factors: Income, poverty, employment, economic mobility
• Education: Educational attainment, quality of schools, dropout rates
• Health Status: Disease prevalence, mortality, disability status
• Healthcare Access: Insurance coverage, provider availability, preventative care
• Housing: Housing affordability, homeownership, housing quality
• Environmental Factors: Air and water quality, toxic exposure, climate indicators
• Food Environment: Food access, food insecurity, nutrition assistance
• Transportation: Commuting patterns, vehicle access, public transit
• Traffic Safety: Fatalities, injuries, risk factors like DUI and speeding
• Social Cohesion: Social capital, civic participation, family structure
• Crime and Safety: Crime rates, community violence, safety perceptions
• Built Environment: Land use, walkability, recreation access

Getting Started

Installation

1. Clone this repository:

git clone https://github.com/davidlary/US-SocialDeterminantsOfHealth.git
cd US-SocialDeterminantsOfHealth

2. Install required R packages:

Rscript R/install_packages.r

3. Run the data pipeline:

Rscript R/unified_sdoh_pipeline.r

Command Line Options

• --years=1970:2023: Specify year range (default: most recent 10 years)
• --force-update or -f: Force refresh of all cached data
• --verbose or -v: Show detailed processing information
• --skip-interpolation: Disable interpolation for missing data points
• --offline-mode or --offline: Run in offline mode using only cached data
• --output-format=csv,duckdb,sqlite: Specify output format(s)

Data Dictionary

Demographics

Variable	Description	Unit	Source	Years
total_population	Total population	Count	Census	1970-present
median_age	Median age	Years	Census	1970-present
male_population	Male population	Count	Census	1970-present
female_population	Female population	Count	Census	1970-present
population_under_18	Population under 18	Count	Census	1970-present
population_65_over	Population 65 and over	Count	Census	1970-present
white_nonhispanic_pct	White, not Hispanic	Percentage	Census	1970-present
black_pct	Black/African American	Percentage	Census	1970-present
hispanic_latino_pct	Hispanic/Latino	Percentage	Census	1970-present
asian_pct	Asian	Percentage	Census	1970-present
native_american_pct	American Indian/Alaska Native	Percentage	Census	1970-present
population_density	Population per square mile	Density	Census	1970-present

Economic Factors

Variable	Description	Unit	Source	Years
median_household_income	Median household income	Dollars	Census ACS	1970-present
poverty_rate	Population below poverty line	Percentage	Census ACS	1970-present
gini_index	Income inequality (Gini Index)	Index (0-1)	Census ACS	1990-present
snap_benefits_pct	Households receiving SNAP	Percentage	Census ACS	1990-present
unemployment_rate	Unemployment rate	Percentage	BLS	1990-present
labor_force_participation	Labor force participation rate	Percentage	Census ACS	1990-present
median_earnings	Median earnings for workers	Dollars	Census ACS	1990-present

Education

Variable	Description	Unit	Source	Years
less_than_highschool_pct	Less than high school education	Percentage	Census ACS	1970-present
highschool_only_pct	High school degree only	Percentage	Census ACS	1970-present
some_college_pct	Some college or associate's	Percentage	Census ACS	1970-present
bachelors_or_higher_pct	Bachelor's degree or higher	Percentage	Census ACS	1970-present

Housing

Variable	Description	Unit	Source	Years
median_home_value	Median home value	Dollars	Census ACS	1970-present
median_gross_rent	Median gross rent	Dollars	Census ACS	1970-present
homeownership_rate	Homeownership rate	Percentage	Census ACS	1970-present
vacant_housing_rate	Vacant housing rate	Percentage	Census ACS	1970-present
severe_housing_cost_burden	Severe housing cost burden	Percentage	HUD	1990-present
overcrowded_housing_pct	>1 person per room	Percentage	Census ACS	1990-present
housing_no_kitchen_pct	Lacking kitchen facilities	Percentage	Census ACS	1990-present
housing_no_plumbing_pct	Lacking plumbing facilities	Percentage	Census ACS	1990-present

Transportation

Variable	Description	Unit	Source	Years
mean_commute_time	Mean travel time to work	Minutes	Census ACS	1990-present
commute_public_transit_pct	Public transit commuters	Percentage	Census ACS	1990-present
no_vehicle_households_pct	Households with no vehicle	Percentage	Census ACS	1990-present
commute_carpool_pct	Carpool commuters	Percentage	Census ACS	1990-present
commute_walking_pct	Walking commuters	Percentage	Census ACS	1990-present
commute_long_pct	Commute ≥60 minutes	Percentage	Census ACS	1990-present

Traffic Safety

Variable	Description	Unit	Source	Years
traffic_fatality_count	Traffic fatalities	Count	NHTSA FARS	1975-present
traffic_fatality_rate_per_100k	Traffic fatality rate	Rate per 100k	NHTSA FARS	1975-present
traffic_injury_count	Traffic injuries	Count	NHTSA FARS	1975-present
traffic_injury_rate_per_100k	Traffic injury rate	Rate per 100k	NHTSA FARS	1975-present
ped_bike_fatality_count	Pedestrian/cyclist fatalities	Count	NHTSA FARS	1975-present
ped_bike_fatality_rate_per_100k	Pedestrian/cyclist fatality rate	Rate per 100k	NHTSA FARS	1975-present
dui_fatality_count	DUI-related fatalities	Count	NHTSA FARS	1975-present
dui_fatality_rate_per_100k	DUI-related fatality rate	Rate per 100k	NHTSA FARS	1975-present
speeding_fatality_count	Speeding-related fatalities	Count	NHTSA FARS	1975-present
speeding_fatality_rate_per_100k	Speeding-related fatality rate	Rate per 100k	NHTSA FARS	1975-present
transport_mortality_count	Transport-related deaths	Count	CDC WONDER	1970-present

Health Insurance

Variable	Description	Unit	Source	Years
uninsured_pct	Without health insurance	Percentage	Census ACS	1990-present
private_health_insurance_pct	Private health insurance	Percentage	Census ACS	1990-present
public_health_insurance_pct	Public health insurance	Percentage	Census ACS	1990-present
medicaid_pct	Medicaid coverage	Percentage	Census ACS	1990-present
medicare_pct	Medicare coverage	Percentage	Census ACS	1990-present

Health Status

Variable	Description	Unit	Source	Years
poor_physical_health_pct	Poor physical health	Percentage	CDC PLACES	2016-present
poor_mental_health_pct	Poor mental health	Percentage	CDC PLACES	2016-present
depression_pct	Depression	Percentage	CDC PLACES	2016-present
obesity_pct	Obesity	Percentage	CDC PLACES	2016-present
diabetes_pct	Diabetes	Percentage	CDC PLACES	2016-present
high_blood_pressure_pct	High blood pressure	Percentage	CDC PLACES	2016-present
high_cholesterol_pct	High cholesterol	Percentage	CDC PLACES	2016-present
asthma_pct	Asthma	Percentage	CDC PLACES	2016-present
arthritis_pct	Arthritis	Percentage	CDC PLACES	2016-present
cancer_pct	Cancer history	Percentage	CDC PLACES	2016-present
copd_pct	COPD	Percentage	CDC PLACES	2016-present
kidney_disease_pct	Kidney disease	Percentage	CDC PLACES	2016-present
coronary_heart_disease_pct	Coronary heart disease	Percentage	CDC PLACES	2016-present
stroke_pct	Stroke history	Percentage	CDC PLACES	2016-present

Health Behaviors

Variable	Description	Unit	Source	Years
smoking_pct	Current smokers	Percentage	CDC PLACES	2016-present
binge_drinking_pct	Binge drinking	Percentage	CDC PLACES	2016-present
physical_inactivity_pct	Physical inactivity	Percentage	CDC PLACES	2016-present
insufficient_sleep_pct	Insufficient sleep	Percentage	CDC PLACES	2016-present

Environmental Factors

Variable	Description	Unit	Source	Years
air_pollution_pm25	PM2.5 concentration	µg/m³	EPA	1990-present
severe_housing_problems	Severe housing problems	Percentage	HUD	1990-present

Social Factors

Variable	Description	Unit	Source	Years
single_parent_households_pct	Single-parent households	Percentage	Census ACS	1990-present
limited_english_pct	Limited English proficiency	Percentage	Census ACS	1990-present
broadband_access_pct	Broadband internet access	Percentage	Census ACS	2013-present
grandparents_caregivers_pct	Grandparents as caregivers	Percentage	Census ACS	1990-present
internet_access_pct	Internet access	Percentage	Census ACS	2013-present
computer_access_pct	Computer access	Percentage	Census ACS	2013-present
non_english_home_pct	Non-English at home	Percentage	Census ACS	1990-present

Food Environment

Variable	Description	Unit	Source	Years
food_insecurity_pct	Food insecurity	Percentage	USDA	2000-present

Disability

Variable	Description	Unit	Source	Years
disability_pct	Any disability	Percentage	Census ACS	1990-present
disability_under_18_pct	Disability under 18	Percentage	Census ACS	1990-present
disability_18_64_pct	Disability 18-64	Percentage	Census ACS	1990-present
disability_65_over_pct	Disability 65+	Percentage	Census ACS	1990-present
cognitive_disability_pct	Cognitive disability	Percentage	Census ACS	1990-present
ambulatory_disability_pct	Ambulatory disability	Percentage	Census ACS	1990-present
independent_living_disability_pct	Independent living disability	Percentage	Census ACS	1990-present

Traffic Safety Module

The traffic safety module is a comprehensive component that fetches and analyzes traffic safety data at the county level across the United States. It provides detailed information about traffic fatalities, injuries, and related risk factors from 1970 to the present.

Key Features

1. Data Sources Integration:

   • NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) - county-level traffic fatality data
   • CDC WONDER - transportation mortality data
   • Census population data - for calculating rates per population

2. Comprehensive Metrics:

   • Traffic fatality counts and rates
   • Traffic injury counts and rates
   • Pedestrian and cyclist fatality counts and rates
   • DUI-related fatality counts and rates
   • Speeding-related fatality counts and rates

3. Advanced Analytics:

   • Time series forecasting with multiple models (ARIMA, ETS, ensemble)
   • Spatial analysis including hotspot detection
   • Local and global spatial autocorrelation (Moran's I, Getis-Ord G*)
   • Persistent problem area identification across years

4. Data Quality Tracking:

   • Source attribution for every data point
   • Quality flags: direct, interpolated, extrapolated, calculated
   • Gap filling with appropriate statistical methods
   • Comprehensive validation checks

5. Visualization Capabilities:

   • County-level choropleth maps
   • Hotspot maps showing spatial clusters
   • Time series visualizations
   • Interactive and static outputs

Integration with Pipeline

The traffic safety module is fully integrated with the unified SDOH pipeline, with these components:

1. Main Data Fetcher (fetch_traffic_safety_data.r):

   • Primary function to retrieve traffic safety data from multiple sources
   • Handles caching, quality control, and data fusion

2. Enhancement Modules:

   • traffic_safety_cache.r - Optimized caching with compression
   • traffic_safety_validation.r - Data quality validation
   • traffic_safety_forecasting.r - Time series forecasting
   • traffic_safety_geospatial.r - Spatial analysis and mapping

3. Integration Module (traffic_safety_integration.r):

   • Safely loads and coordinates all traffic safety components
   • Prevents pipeline hanging with timeout management
   • Provides fallback mechanisms if components fail

Using the Dataset

The pipeline creates a DuckDB database in output/us_county_sdoh_unified.duckdb. You can connect to it using:

library(DBI)
library(duckdb)

# Connect to the database
con <- dbConnect(duckdb::duckdb(), 'output/us_county_sdoh_unified.duckdb')

# Get the latest traffic safety data for all counties
latest_data <- dbGetQuery(con, "
  SELECT fips, county_name, 
         traffic_fatality_rate_per_100k, dui_fatality_rate_per_100k, 
         traffic_fatality_count_data_quality
  FROM latest_county_data
")

# Get time series traffic safety data for Los Angeles County
la_traffic_data <- dbGetQuery(con, "
  SELECT year, traffic_fatality_count, traffic_fatality_rate_per_100k,
         dui_fatality_count, ped_bike_fatality_count
  FROM county_time_series 
  WHERE geoid = '06037' -- Los Angeles County
  ORDER BY year
")

# View hotspot analysis results
hotspots <- dbGetQuery(con, "
  SELECT * FROM traffic_safety_hotspots
  WHERE year = 2020
")

# Close the connection
dbDisconnect(con)

Data Quality Indicators

Every record in the dataset includes comprehensive data quality indicators:

• Data Source: Original source of the data (Census, NHTSA FARS, CDC WONDER, etc.)
• Data Vintage: Year and specific collection the data came from
• Data Quality: One of:
  • 'direct' - Data directly from authoritative source
  • 'interpolated' - Values estimated between known data points
  • 'extrapolated' - Values projected beyond the available data
  • 'calculated' - Derived values (e.g., rates from counts and population)
  • 'imputed' - Values estimated using statistical methods
  • 'forecast' - Values predicted by time series models

Citation

If you use this dataset in your research or applications, please cite it as:

US Social Determinants of Health Dataset (2025). 
Comprehensive county-level data from U.S. Census Bureau, CDC PLACES, 
NHTSA FARS, and other authoritative sources for social determinants 
of health analyses from 1970 to present.

Contact

For questions or issues related to this dataset, please contact David Lary (davidlary@me.com).

License

This dataset is provided for research and public health purposes. The code in this repository is licensed under the MIT License, while the aggregated data is provided under CC BY 4.0. Individual data sources maintain their original licensing terms.