Texas Health Data - Population Profiles

Population Profiles

Population Profiles is a snapshot of the people of Texas. Some of the measures presented have a direct connection to health and well-being. One example is reflected on the Education and Employment page. People with higher levels of education are more likely to be in better health and live longer.

For questions about this data, send email to CHS-info@dshs.texas.gov

Population Estimates

Population estimates were obtained from the Texas Demographic Center https://demographics.texas.gov/Estimates.

ACS 5-Year Estimates

The U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) is an ongoing survey that provides vital information on a yearly basis about the United and its people. It provides communities with reliable and timely social, economic, housing, and demographic data every year. Tables used in these dashboards include 2022 ACS 5-year estimates of 1) Sex by age, race, and ethnicity (B01001); 2) Languages spoken at home for the population 5 years and older (C16001); 3) Sex by educational attainment for the population 25 years and over (C15002); 4) Employment status for the population 16 years and over (B23025); 5) Median household income in the past 12 months (B19013); 6) Gross rent as a percentage of household income in the past 12 months (B25070); and 7) Means of transportation to work by travel time to work (B08134). Details on the data and collection methods can be found in the ACS data user handbook: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/library/handbooks/general.html

BRFSS

The Texas Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), initiated in 1987, is a federally supported landline and cellular telephone survey that collects data about Texas residents regarding their health-related risk behaviors, chronic health conditions, and use of preventive services. This surveillance can be used to monitor the Healthy People 2030 Objectives for current risk factors, including overweight and obesity status.

In 2011, BRFSS began including data received from cell phone users and using a new data weighting methodology called raking or iterative proportional fitting. Therefore, data collected in 2011 and beyond cannot be directly compared to data collected before 2011.

Access to Parks

Data for access to parks is sourced from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network and gets updated every five years. The community design data on the Tracking Network describe access to places where people can participate in physical activity. The "Access to Parks and Schools" indicator estimates the number and percentage of people living within a half mile of a park or a public school. More information can be found at: https://ephtracking.cdc.gov/.

Food Insecurity in The United States

Data on food insecurity were sourced from 2022 historical food insecurity estimates from Map the Meal Gap as produced by Feeding America county-level estimates. To create food insecurity rates and numbers, the relationship between food insecurity and its closely linked indicators (poverty, unemployment, homeownership, disability prevalence, etc.) are first analyzed at the state level. Then, the coefficient estimates from this analysis are used in conjunction with the same variables for every county and congressional district. Together, these variables can generate estimated food insecurity rates for individuals and children at the local level.