Read this first — what these numbers are, and are not
These three indices are computed here from ACS 5-year data; they are
not official Census or agency statistics. They are county-level
products: each score is a county's rank against all other U.S. counties (state and national rows
carry no index score). Puerto Rico is excluded from scoring. Ranks are re-computed within
each vintage, so a score's year-over-year change is not directly comparable — treat it as
informational. Method version 2026.2, last updated 2026-07-26.
Social Vulnerability Index (SVI)
Social Vulnerability Index (CDC/ATSDR method) · method: sum_percentile_ranks
Percentile-rank each component (direction-oriented), sum within a theme -> theme percentile rank, sum theme ranks -> overall percentile rank. Equal weighting, no external coefficients.
SVI-2020 variable set (RESOLVED 2026-07-26). Socioeconomic theme uses housing-cost burden (svi_hburd), matching CDC/ATSDR SVI-2020 which replaced per-capita income with cost burden. svi_pci is still defined below but is NOT in any theme; drop svi_hburd and restore svi_pci to the SES theme to reconstitute the 2018+uninsured variant.
- SVI (ACS5) — Social Vulnerability Index, national percentile (CDC/ATSDR 2020 method, computed from ACS 5-year). County-level; higher = more vulnerable. Re-ranked each vintage, so year-over-year is not directly comparable.
- SVI Socioeconomic — SVI Socioeconomic Status theme percentile (poverty, unemployment, housing-cost burden, no HS diploma, uninsured). County-level; higher = more vulnerable.
- SVI Household — SVI Household Characteristics theme percentile (aged 65+, aged 17 and under, disability, single-parent, limited English). County-level; higher = more vulnerable.
- SVI Minority Status — SVI Racial & Ethnic Minority Status theme percentile. County-level; higher = more vulnerable.
- SVI Housing & Transport — SVI Housing Type & Transportation theme percentile (multi-unit, mobile homes, crowding, no vehicle, group quarters). County-level; higher = more vulnerable.
Socioeconomic Status
| Component | ACS variable IDs | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Below 150% poverty, % svi_pov150 | Numerator: C17002_002E, C17002_003E, C17002_004E, C17002_005EDenominator: C17002_001E | higher → more deprived/vulnerable |
| Unemployed (civ. labor force), % svi_unemp | Numerator: B23025_005EDenominator: B23025_003E | higher → more deprived/vulnerable |
| Housing-cost burden (>=30% of income), % svi_hburd | Numerator: B25070_007E, B25070_008E, B25070_009E, B25070_010E, B25091_008E, B25091_009E, B25091_010E, B25091_011E, B25091_019E, B25091_020E, B25091_021E, B25091_022EDenominator: B25070_001E, B25091_001E | higher → more deprived/vulnerable |
| No high-school diploma (25+), % svi_nohsdp | Numerator: B15003_002E, B15003_003E, B15003_004E, B15003_005E, B15003_006E, B15003_007E, B15003_008E, B15003_009E, B15003_010E, B15003_011E, B15003_012E, B15003_013E, B15003_014E, B15003_015E, B15003_016EDenominator: B15003_001E | higher → more deprived/vulnerable |
| Uninsured, % svi_uninsur | Numerator: S2701_C04_001EDenominator: S2701_C01_001E | higher → more deprived/vulnerable |
Household Characteristics
| Component | ACS variable IDs | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Aged 65+, % svi_age65 | Numerator: S0101_C01_030EDenominator: S0101_C01_001E | higher → more deprived/vulnerable |
| Aged 17 & under, % svi_age17 | Numerator: B09001_001EDenominator: B01003_001E | higher → more deprived/vulnerable |
| Civilian with a disability, % svi_disabl | Numerator: S1810_C02_001EDenominator: S1810_C01_001E | higher → more deprived/vulnerable |
| Single-parent households, % svi_sngpnt | Numerator: B11012_010E, B11012_015EDenominator: B11012_001E | higher → more deprived/vulnerable |
| Limited English (speaks < 'well'), % svi_limeng | Numerator: B16005_007E, B16005_008E, B16005_012E, B16005_013E, B16005_017E, B16005_018E, B16005_022E, B16005_023E, B16005_029E, B16005_030E, B16005_034E, B16005_035E, B16005_039E, B16005_040E, B16005_044E, B16005_045EDenominator: B16005_001E | higher → more deprived/vulnerable |
Racial & Ethnic Minority Status
| Component | ACS variable IDs | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Racial/ethnic minority, % svi_minrty | Total: B03002_001EMinus: B03002_003E | higher → more deprived/vulnerable |
Housing Type & Transportation
| Component | ACS variable IDs | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-unit structures (10+), % svi_munit | Numerator: DP04_0012E, DP04_0013EDenominator: DP04_0001E | higher → more deprived/vulnerable |
| Mobile homes, % svi_mobile | Numerator: DP04_0014EDenominator: DP04_0001E | higher → more deprived/vulnerable |
| Crowding (>1 per room), % svi_crowd | Numerator: B25014_005E, B25014_006E, B25014_007E, B25014_011E, B25014_012E, B25014_013EDenominator: B25014_001E | higher → more deprived/vulnerable |
| No vehicle, % svi_noveh | Numerator: B25044_003E, B25044_010EDenominator: B25044_001E | higher → more deprived/vulnerable |
| In group quarters, % svi_groupq | Numerator: B26001_001EDenominator: B01003_001E | higher → more deprived/vulnerable |
Social Deprivation Index (SDI)
Social Deprivation Index (Robert Graham Center, 7-variable) · method: combine_percentiles
Percentile-transform each of the 7 components, combine (sum), rescale to 1-100. Faithful reproduction: RGC's published SDI is a factor-score composite whose exact coefficients are not published, so the standard reproduction is a percentile composite of the 7.
- SDI (ACS5) — Social Deprivation Index, 1-100 (Robert Graham Center 7-variable reproduction, computed from ACS 5-year). County-level; higher = more deprived. Re-ranked each vintage, so year-over-year is not directly comparable.
| Component | ACS variable IDs | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| In poverty (<100% FPL), % sdi_poverty | Numerator: B17001_002EDenominator: B17001_001E | higher → more deprived/vulnerable |
| < high-school education (25+), % sdi_lths | Numerator: B15003_002E, B15003_003E, B15003_004E, B15003_005E, B15003_006E, B15003_007E, B15003_008E, B15003_009E, B15003_010E, B15003_011E, B15003_012E, B15003_013E, B15003_014E, B15003_015E, B15003_016EDenominator: B15003_001E | higher → more deprived/vulnerable |
| Single-parent households, % sdi_sngpnt | Numerator: B11012_010E, B11012_015EDenominator: B11012_001E | higher → more deprived/vulnerable |
| Renter-occupied housing, % sdi_rented | Numerator: B25003_003EDenominator: B25003_001E | higher → more deprived/vulnerable |
| Crowding (>1 per room), % sdi_crowded | Numerator: B25014_005E, B25014_006E, B25014_007E, B25014_011E, B25014_012E, B25014_013EDenominator: B25014_001E | higher → more deprived/vulnerable |
| Households without a car, % sdi_nocar | Numerator: B25044_003E, B25044_010EDenominator: B25044_001E | higher → more deprived/vulnerable |
| Non-employed adults under 65, % sdi_nonemp | Numerator: B23001_008E, B23001_009E, B23001_015E, B23001_016E, B23001_022E, B23001_023E, B23001_029E, B23001_030E, B23001_036E, B23001_037E, B23001_043E, B23001_044E, B23001_050E, B23001_051E, B23001_057E, B23001_058E, B23001_064E, B23001_065E, B23001_071E, B23001_072E, B23001_094E, B23001_095E, B23001_101E, B23001_102E, B23001_108E, B23001_109E, B23001_115E, B23001_116E, B23001_122E, B23001_123E, B23001_129E, B23001_130E, B23001_136E, B23001_137E, B23001_143E, B23001_144E, B23001_150E, B23001_151E, B23001_157E, B23001_158EDenominator: B23001_003E, B23001_010E, B23001_017E, B23001_024E, B23001_031E, B23001_038E, B23001_045E, B23001_052E, B23001_059E, B23001_066E, B23001_089E, B23001_096E, B23001_103E, B23001_110E, B23001_117E, B23001_124E, B23001_131E, B23001_138E, B23001_145E, B23001_152E | higher → more deprived/vulnerable |
Area Deprivation Index (ADI)
Area Deprivation Index (Stanford ReADI method) · method: readi_factor
Standardize (z-score) the 17 direction-oriented components, fit a one-factor model (population-weighted), extract factor scores, rescale to 0-100. Higher = more deprived.
Population weight: sqrt(POPWT)+1 from B01003_001E, per ReADI.
Outputs: national_percentile, state_decile. 1-10 within-state ranking of that state's counties (authentic ReADI/Atlas output). DC = single-county 'state' -> degenerate; handled explicitly in Part 2 (blank rather than a junk decile). PR excluded.
- ADI (ACS5) — Area Deprivation Index, national percentile (Stanford ReADI one-factor method, computed from ACS 5-year). County-level; higher = more deprived. Re-ranked each vintage, so year-over-year is not directly comparable.
- ADI State Decile — Area Deprivation Index within-state decile, 1-10 (Stanford ReADI). County-level; higher = more deprived relative to other counties in the same state. Single-county states (e.g. DC) are left blank.
| Component | ACS variable IDs | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Median family income, $ adi_medfaminc | Field: B19013_001E | protective (higher → less deprived/vulnerable) |
| Income disparity (log ratio low:high) adi_incdisparity | Numerator: B19001_002E, B19001_003E, B19001_004EDenominator: B19001_014E, B19001_015E, B19001_016E, B19001_017E | higher → more deprived/vulnerable |
| Families below poverty, % adi_fampov | Numerator: B17017_002EDenominator: B17017_001E | higher → more deprived/vulnerable |
| Below 150% poverty, % adi_pov150 | Numerator: C17002_002E, C17002_003E, C17002_004E, C17002_005EDenominator: C17002_001E | higher → more deprived/vulnerable |
| < high-school diploma (25+), % adi_lths | Numerator: B15003_002E, B15003_003E, B15003_004E, B15003_005E, B15003_006E, B15003_007E, B15003_008E, B15003_009E, B15003_010E, B15003_011E, B15003_012E, B15003_013E, B15003_014E, B15003_015E, B15003_016EDenominator: B15003_001E | higher → more deprived/vulnerable |
| Bachelor's degree or higher (25+), % adi_baplus | Numerator: B15003_022E, B15003_023E, B15003_024E, B15003_025EDenominator: B15003_001E | protective (higher → less deprived/vulnerable) |
| White-collar occupations, % adi_whitecollar | Numerator: C24010_003E, C24010_027E, C24010_039E, C24010_063EDenominator: C24010_001E | protective (higher → less deprived/vulnerable) |
| Unemployed (civ. labor force), % adi_unemp | Numerator: B23025_005EDenominator: B23025_003E | higher → more deprived/vulnerable |
| Median home value, $ adi_medhome | Field: B25077_001E | protective (higher → less deprived/vulnerable) |
| Median gross rent, $ adi_medrent | Field: B25064_001E | protective (higher → less deprived/vulnerable) |
| Median monthly mortgage, $ adi_medmortgage | Field: B25088_002E | protective (higher → less deprived/vulnerable) |
| Owner-occupied housing, % adi_ownerocc | Numerator: B25003_002EDenominator: B25003_001E | protective (higher → less deprived/vulnerable) |
| Single-parent households, % adi_sngpnt | Numerator: B11012_010E, B11012_015EDenominator: B11012_001E | higher → more deprived/vulnerable |
| Households without a vehicle, % adi_noveh | Numerator: B25044_003E, B25044_010EDenominator: B25044_001E | higher → more deprived/vulnerable |
| Households without internet, % adi_nointernet | Numerator: B28002_013EDenominator: B28002_001E | higher → more deprived/vulnerable |
| Lacking complete plumbing (log), % adi_noplumbing | Numerator: B25049_004E, B25049_007EDenominator: B25049_001E | higher → more deprived/vulnerable |
| Crowding (>1 per room), % adi_crowded | Numerator: B25014_005E, B25014_006E, B25014_007E, B25014_011E, B25014_012E, B25014_013EDenominator: B25014_001E | higher → more deprived/vulnerable |
How a component becomes a number
Each component above is evaluated from its raw ACS variables by one of these operations, then direction-oriented so that a higher value always means more deprived/vulnerable before ranking:
- log_ratio_pct — Log ratio = 100 × ln((Σnumerator + 1) ÷ (Σdenominator + 1)).
- median — Median dollar level, taken directly (not a share).
- pct — Share = 100 × Σ(numerator) ÷ Σ(denominator).
- pct_complement — Share = 100 × (total − Σ(subtracted)) ÷ total.