County Attributes
Last updated: April 16, 2012
County Attributes data can be analyzed with the SEER*Stat software. The most common uses of this data would be to create a list of the county attribute data (such as, median income values by county) using the case listing session, and to calculate incidence and mortality rates by county attributes using rate sessions. See the SEER*Stat County Attributes Tutorials for examples.
Descriptions of the county attributes variables are provided below.
- 2000 & 1990 Race and Hispanic Ethnicity Percentages
- 2000 County Attributes
- 2000 County Attributes by Race and Hispanic Ethnicity
- 1990 County Attributes
- Rural-Urban Continuum Codes
- Cost-of-Living Index and Adjustments
- Health Service Areas (HSA)
- Contract Health Service Delivery Areas (CHSDA)
- Appalachia
- Small Area Estimates
2000 & 1990 Race and Hispanic Ethnicity Percentages
Race/Hispanic percentages for the following variables were obtained from SEER*Stat Population Databases:
- Black
- American Indian/Alaskan Native
- Asian/Pacific Islander
- Non-White (previously percent Minority)
- Minority (including Hispanic-White)
- Hispanic
These populations are calculated from the National Cancer Institute's modified Census populations (see http://seer.cancer.gov/popdata/).
2000 County Attributes
The county attribute variables for 2000 are calculated using the Census 2000 SF files.
The technical documentation for the 2000 SF files is available from the Census Bureau at:
http://www.census.gov/main/www/cen2000.html
.
The following is a brief description of the county attribute variables and the formulas.
The variable labels (e.g., P012003) refer to specific table cells for a given census variable
and are defined in the technical documentation for that variable.
Descriptions
Age
The percent of persons under age 18 and the percent of persons ages 65 and over are calculated using table P11: Sex by Age from the Census SF1 data. The formulas used to calculate these are:
- <18: ((P012003+…+P012006+P012027+…+P012030)/P012001)*100
- 65+: ((P012020+…+P012025+P012044+…+P012049)/P012001)*100
Crowding
The percent of households with more than one person per room is calculated from the Census SF3 table H20: Tenure by Occupants per Room. The formula used to calculate this is:
- Crowding: ((H020005+H020006+H020007+H020011+H020012+H020013)/H020001)*100
Educational Attainment
Three education percentage variables are calculated from the Census SF3 table P37: Sex by Educational Attainment for the Population 25 Years and over. The percent with less than 9th grade, less than high school graduate and at least a bachelor’s degree are calculated, as follows:
- < 9th grade: ((P037003+…+P037006+P037020+…+P037023)/P037001)*100
- < HS grad: ((P037003+…+P037010+P037020+…+P037027)/P037001)*100
- At least bachelors degree: ((P037015+…+P037018+P037032+…+P037035)/P037001)*100
Employment
The percent of persons ages 16 and over who are unemployed is calculated using the Census SF3 data in table P43: Sex by Employment Status for the Population 16 Years and Over. The percent unemployed is calculated for civilians in the labor force. Persons in the armed forces or not in the labor force are not included in the calculation. The formula used is:
- Unemployed: (P043007+P043014)/(P043005+P043012))*100
The percent of persons who work in white collar occupations is calculated from the Census SF3 data in table P50: Sex by Occupation for the Employed Civilian Population 16 Years and Over. The formula used to calculate percent white collar is:
- White collar: ((P050003+P050026+P050050+P050073)/P050001)*100
Foreign Born
The percent of persons who are foreign born is calculated using the Census SF3 table P21: Place of Birth by Citizenship Status. The formula used for this is:
- Foreign born: (P021013/P021001)*100
Language Isolation
The percent of households that are linguistically isolated is calculated from Census SF3 table P20: Households Language by Linguistic Isolation. The Census Bureau defines linguistically isolated as a household in which all members 14 years old and over speak a non-English language and also speak English less than "Very well" (have difficulty with English). The formula used to calculate percent language isolation is:
- Language isolation: ((P0200004+P020007+P020010+P020013)/P020001)*100
Median Income
Median household income and median family income were taken from the Census SF3 data. Median household income is from table P53: Median Household Income in 1999. Median family income is from table P77: Median Family Income in 1999.
Migration
Table P24: Residence in 1995 for the Population 5 Years and Over-State and County Level of the Census SF3 data was used to create 5 migration variables. These are percent of persons in the same house (no migration), moved but in the same county, moved from a different county but in the same state, moved from a different state in the US and moved from outside the U.S. The formulas for these are:
- Same house: (P024002/P024001)*100
- Moved, same county: (P024005/P024001)*100
- Moved, different county, same state: (P024007/P024001)*100
- Moved, different state: (P024008/P024001)*100
- Moved, outside the US: ((P024013+P024016)/P024001)*100
Poverty
The percent of persons and percent of families whose incomes are below the poverty level using tables P87 and P90 from the Census SF3 data. Table P87 is Poverty Status in 1999 by age for population for whom poverty status is determined. Table P90 is Poverty Status in 1999 of Families by Family Type by Presence of Related Children Under 18 Years by Age of Related Children. The formulas for these are:
- Persons below poverty: (P087002/P087001)*100
- Families below poverty: (P090002/P090001)*100
The percent of persons who are below 150 percent of the poverty level and percent of persons who are below 200 percent of the poverty level are calculated using the Census SF3 table P88: Ratio of Income in 1999 to Poverty Level. The formula for this is:
- Persons below 150% poverty: ((P088002+…+P088006)/P088001)*100
- Persons below 200% poverty: ((P088002+...+P088009)/P088001)*100
Urban
The percent of persons living in urban areas is calculated from Census SF3 table P5: Urban and Rural. The formula used to calculate this is:
- Urban: (P005002/P005001)*100
2000 County Attributes by Race and Hispanic Ethnicity
The race specific county attribute variables for 2000 are calculated using the Census 2000 SF 4 files.
These variables are calculated for the race groups White alone, Black alone, American Indian/Alaska Native alone,
Asian/Pacific Islander alone, Non-Hispanic White alone and Hispanics.
The technical documentation for the 2000 SF files is available from the Census Bureau at:
http://www.census.gov/census2000/SF4.html.
The following is a brief description of the county attribute variables and the formulas.
The variable labels (e.g., PCT064003) refer to specific table cells for a given census variable
and are defined in the technical documentation for that variable.
Descriptions
Educational Attainment
Three education percentage variables are calculated from the Census SF4 table PCT64: Sex by Educational Attainment for the Population 25 Years and over. The percent with less than 9th grade, less than high school graduate and at least a bachelor’s degree are calculated, as follows:
- < 9th grade: ((PCT064003+...+PCT064006+PCT064020+...+PCT064023)/PCT064001)*100
- < HS grad: ((PCT064003+...+PCT064010+PCT064020+...+PCT064027)/PCT064001) *100
- At least bachelors degree: ((PCT064015+...+PCT064018+PCT064032+...+PCT064035)/PCT064001)*100
Employment
The percent of persons ages 16 and over who are unemployed is calculated using the Census SF4 data in table PCT79: Sex by Age by Employment Status for the Population 16 Years and Over. The percent unemployed is calculated for civilians in the labor force. Persons in the armed forces or not in the labor force are not included in the calculation. The formula used is:
- Unemployed: ((PCT079008+PCT079015+PCT079022+PCT079029+PCT079036+PCT079043+PCT079050+PCT079057+
PCT079064+PCT079071+PCT079078+PCT079085+PCT079092+PCT079100+PCT079107+PCT079114+
PCT079121+PCT079128+PCT079135+PCT079142+PCT079149+PCT079156+PCT079163+PCT079170+
PCT079177+PCT079184)/(PCT079006+PCT079013+PCT079020+PCT079027+PCT079034+PCT079041+
PCT079048+PCT079055+PCT079062+PCT079069+PCT079076+PCT079083+PCT079090+PCT079098+
PCT079105+PCT079112+PCT079119+PCT079126+PCT079133+PCT079140+PCT079147+PCT079154+
PCT079161+PCT079168+PCT079175+PCT079182))*100
The percent of persons who work in white collar occupations is calculated from the Census SF4 data in table PCT86: Sex by Occupation for the Employed Civilian Population 16 Years and Over. The formula used to calculate percent white collar is:
- White collar: ((PCT086003+PCT086061+PCT086062+PCT086129+PCT086187+PCT086188)/PCT086001)*100
Poverty
The percent of persons and percent of families whose incomes are below the poverty level using tables PCT142 and PCT157 from the Census SF4 data. Table PCT142 is Poverty Status in 1999 by Sex and Age for the population for whom poverty status is determined. Table PCT157 is Poverty Status in 1999 of Families by Family Type by Presence of Related Children Under 18 Years by Age of Related Children. The formulas for these are:
- Persons below poverty: (PCT142002/PCT142001)*100
- Families below poverty: (PCT157002/PCT157001)*100
The percent of persons who are below 150 percent of the poverty level and percent of persons who are below 200 percent of the poverty level are and percent of persons who are below 200 percent of the poverty level are calculated using the Census SF4 table PCT141: Ratio of Income in 1999 to Poverty Level. The formula for this is:
- Persons below 150% poverty: ((PCT141002+...+PCT141007)/PCT141001))*100
- Persons below 200% poverty: ((PCT141002+...+PCT141010)/PCT141001))*100
1990 County Attributes
The county attribute variables for 1990 are calculated using the Census 1990 STF1 and STF3 files.
The technical documentation for these files is available from the Census Bureau
American FactFinder
web site.
The following is a brief description of the county attribute variables and the formulas.
The variable labels (e.g., P0110001) refer to specific table cells for a given census variable
and are defined in the technical documentation for that variable.
Descriptions
Age
The percent of persons under age 18 and the percent of persons ages 65 and over are calculated using table P11: Age from the Census STF1 data. The formulas used to calculate these are:
- <18: ((P0110001+…+P0110012)/(P0110001+...+P0110031))*100
- 65+: ((P0110027+…+P0110031)/(P0110001+...+P0110031))*100
Crowding
The percent of households with more than one person per room is calculated from the Census STF3 table H69: Tenure by Plumbing Facilities by Persons per Room. The formula used to calculate this is:
- Crowding: ((H0690002+H0690003+H0690005+H0690006+H0690008+H0690009+H0690011+H0690012)/
(H0690001+...+H0690012))*100
Educational Attainment
Three education percentage variables are calculated from the Census STF3 table P57: Sex by Educational Attainment for the Population 25 Years and over. The percent with less than 9th grade, less than high school graduate and at least a bachelor’s degree are calculated, as follows:
- < 9th grade: (P0570001/(P0570001+...+P0570007))*100
- < HS grad: ((P0570001+P0570002)/(P0570001+...+P0570007))*100
- At least bachelors degree: ((P0570006+P0570007)/(P0570001+...+P0570007))*100
Employment
The percent of persons ages 16 and over who are unemployed is calculated using the Census STF3 data in table P70: Sex by Employment Status for the Population 16 Years and Over. The percent unemployed is calculated for civilians in the labor force. Persons in the armed forces or not in the labor force are not included in the calculation. The formula used is:
- Unemployed: (P0700003+P0700007)/(P0700002+P0700003+P0700006+P0700007))*100
The percent of persons who work in white collar occupations is calculated from the Census STF3 data in table P78: Occupation for the Employed Persons 16 Years and Over. The formula used to calculate percent white collar is:
- White collar: ((P0780001+P0780002+P0780003+P0780007+P0780009)/(P0780001+...P0780013))*100
Foreign Born
The percent of persons who are foreign born is calculated using the Census STF3 table P42: Place of Birth. The formula used for this is:
- Foreign born: (P0420009/(P0420001+...+P0420009))*100
Language Isolation
The percent of households that are linguistically isolated is calculated from Census STF3 table P29: Households Language by Linguistic Isolation. The Census Bureau defines linguistically isolated as a household in which all members 14 years old and over speak a non-English language and also speak English less than "Very well" (have difficulty with English). The formula used to calculate percent language isolation is:
- Language isolation: ((P0290002+P0290004+P0290006)/(P0290001+...+P0290007)*100
Median Income
Median household income and median family income were taken from the Census STF3 data. Median household income is from table P80A: Median Household Income in 1989. Median family income is from table P107A: Median Family Income in 1989.
Migration
Table P43: Residence in 1985 for the Population 5 Years and Over-State and County Level of the Census STF3 data was used to create 5 migration variables. These are percent of persons in the same house (no migration), moved but in the same county, moved from a different county but in the same state, moved from a different state in the US and moved from outside the U.S. The formulas for these are:
- Same house: (P0430001/(P0430001+...+P0430010))*100
- Moved, same county: (P0430002/(P0430001+...+P0430010))*100
- Moved, different county, same state: (P0430003/(P0430001+...+P0430010))*100
- Moved, different state: ((P0430004+...+P0430007)/(P0430001+...+P0430010))*100
- Moved, outside the US: ((P0430008+...+P0430010)/(P0430001+...+P0430010))*100
Poverty
The percent of persons and percent of families whose incomes are below the poverty level using tables P117 and P123 from the Census STF3 data. Table P117 is Poverty Status in 1989 by age for population for whom poverty status is determined. Table P123 is Poverty Status in 1989 of Families by Family Type by Presence and Age of Children. The formulas for these are:
- Persons below poverty: ((P1170013+...+P1170024)/(P1170001+...+P1170024))*100
- Families below poverty: ((P1230013+...+P1230024)/(P1230001+...+P1230024))*100
The percent of persons who are below 150 percent of the poverty level and percent of persons who are below 200 percent of the poverty level are calculated using the Census STF3 table P121: Ratio of Income in 1989 to Poverty Level. The formula for this is:
- Persons below 150% poverty: ((P1210001+...+P1210005)/(P1210001+...+P1210009))*100
Urban
The percent of persons living in urban areas is calculated from Census STF3 table P6: Urban and Rural. The formula used to calculate this is:
- Urban: ((P0060001+P0060002)/(P0060001+...+P0060004))*100
- Persons below 200% poverty: ((P1210001+...+P1210008)/(P1210001+...+P1210009))*100
Rural-Urban Continuum Codes
Rural-Urban Continuum Codes were developed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Rural-Urban Continuum Codes form a classification scheme that distinguishes metropolitan (metro) counties by the population size of their metro area, and nonmetropolitan (nonmetro) counties by degree of urbanization and adjacency to a metro area or areas. For more information about using Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, go to Rural-Urban Continuum Codes in SEER*Stat.
Cost-of-Living Index and Adjustments
A cost-of-living index has been developed based on the Economic Policy Institute’s Basic Family Budget analysis project. This project estimated the dollar values needed for basic family expenditures (food, housing, transportation, health care, child care, other necessities, and taxes) for metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas in each state in 2004. Family budget values for a two parent, one child family were used to generate this index.
The index value is the ratio of the local cost-of-living to the US population-weighted mean cost-of-living. Counties with values over 1.0 have higher cost-of-living than the US mean; counties with values less than 1.0 have lower cost-of-living. Counties within the same metropolitan area will have the same cost-of-living index value, as do rural counties in a given state.
Based on this index, we provide adjusted values for median household income and median family income for the 2000 Census. This cost-of-living index can be used to adjust other dollar values used in a given research project by dividing the dollar value by the cost-of-living index.
Health Service Areas (HSA)
Health Service Areas (HSA) were originally defined by the
National Center for Health Statistics,
part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to be a single
county or cluster of contiguous counties which are relatively self-contained
with respect to hospital care. For further information about their initial use,
please visit the
Atlas of United State Mortality.
To make these groups of geographic areas work with SEER*Stat, modifications were made when necessary. Additionally, smaller sets of HSAs were created to match with SEER registry groupings. For more information about using Health Service Areas, go to Health Service Areas (HSA) in SEER*Stat.
Contract Health Service Delivery Areas (CHSDA)
A contract health service delivery area (CHSDA) is the geographic area within which health services are provided from public or private medical or hospital facilities at the expense of the Indian Health Service (IHS). Services are provided to members of an identified Indian community who reside in the area. When producing statistics using SEER Incidence data for American Indians/Alaska Natives, SEER frequently only includes cases that are in a CHSDA.
The following spreadsheet has the CHSDA 2006 variable definition used in SEER*Stat: [MS Excel File] [PDF File]
Appalachia
Appalachia is a term used to describe a cultural region in the eastern United States that stretches from southern New York state to northern Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. Counties of the whole state of West Virginia and some counties of the following states are included in this region: Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
Currently, the Appalachian Regional Commission defines Appalachia to include 428 counties/independent cities. The original version of the Appalachia variable, based on an earlier definition, included slightly fewer counties/independent cities. Both versions of the variable are available. The original version was renamed “Appalachia (ARC 2007).” The new version of the variable is “Appalachia (ARC 2008 rev).”
The following spreadsheet has the Appalachia variable definition used in SEER*Stat for both the original (2007 ACR) and the revised (2008 ARC Rev): [MS Excel File] [PDF File]
Small Area Estimates
The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) were used to develop estimates for current smoking prevalence, ever smoking prevalence, mammography prevalence within 2 years, and pap smear test prevalence within 3 years. Estimates for ages 40 and over for mammography and ages 18 and over for the other measures are available for 1997-1999 and 2000-2003. For more information on the development these estimates, go to the Small Area Estimates web site.
