The Index
Welcome to the Civic Information Index! Use this interactive dashboard to explore civic health in your county and around the country.
- Click on a county on the map or search for a county in the search bar (top right) to see how it performed.
- Data for that county will appear on the left. You can click on the gray arrow next to each data point to learn more.
- Click on the “Compare” button (top right) to compare two counties side-by-side.
- You can exit out of the data boxes any time, and it will bring you back to the full U.S. map.
- The map defaults to showing how counties performed on their overall Index score. You can also view the map according to each pillar by selecting one from the dropdown menu in the bottom right.
While we strive to meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA standards, the Index dashboard may not be accessible to screen readers. We invite you to download and review the Index data or reach out to our team.
Download the data that powers the Index here:
“This data is crucial for justifying funding to expand investigative journalism training at HBCUs. It’s not just about diversifying newsrooms but inspiring HBCU journalists to strengthen news ecosystems in the South.”
Investigating Critical Data Gaps
As a tool aiming to compile data for all counties in the nation, our Index inevitably misses some nuances and differences that exist within counties. Urban centers are particularly noteworthy here: they are often densely populated, and differ economically, structurally and culturally from neighborhood to neighborhood.
This means that county averages can mask significant disparities. We see this for example in Oakland, Minneapolis, and places like Hanover County, North Carolina, a quickly urbanizing community due to the rapid growth of Wilmington, North Carolina.
The key is to drill deeper: Using the Index framework as a launchpad for what kinds of data sets to investigate, users can explore more nuanced, hyperlocal data to get a better understanding of these differences. North Carolina’s Cape Fear Collective recently published a great example of how to do this. Digging into more granular data for Hanover County, they found a 17 year difference in life expectancy between two neighborhoods. They then tracked down additional neighborhood level data such as food and housing security, poverty and health insurance, showing a correlation between lower scores across these drivers of civic health and life expectancy.
“It is essential to highlight the need for more localized data. This focus is key to effectively communicating the true impact of this data.”
Index Methodology
The role of the Advisory Group
We reconvened and expanded our Advisory Group for the 2026 Index update. Over the course of four meetings, Advisory Group members reviewed current indicators in the first version of the Civic Information Index and brainstormed possible inclusions for this version, including a focus on environmental and climate indicators. From a list of suggestions and considerations as well as additional research, we developed a set of potential new indicators, including missing indicators. These indicators included possible additions to all four existing pillars as well as new environmental data, which could be included in existing pillars or organized in a new pillar.
The new indicators are as follows, bringing the total number of indicators to 27:
- Local Journalist Equivalent per 100,000 people
- Voter registration
- Mental health providers per 10,000 people
- Household energy burden
- Damage from natural disasters
- Change in temperature and frequency of heat waves
During the final Advisory Group meeting, members discussed the new indicators and were introduced to the process of weighing, which was done in a Qualtrics survey following the meeting. Consistent with the 2024 Index methodology, the survey provided a total number of “chips” that was equal to 10 x the number of indicators in each pillar. For weighing the pillars in the overall index, 50 chips were provided in total (10 chips per pillar).
Updating Indicators
For 18 of the 21 indicators used in the 2024 Civic Information Index updated data was available at the time of data collection. This included new American Community Survey data: the 2024 Index used 2018-2022 estimates while the 2026 Index now includes 2020-2024 estimates. For each existing indicator, we compared this year’s data release to the data used in the 2024 version of the Index to ensure consistency in data quality. We then added three new indicators under existing pillars and three new indicators under the new Environmental Resilience pillar.
Constructing the Index Score
Our calculation methods remained relatively unchanged from the 2024 Civic Information Index. First, we adjusted the indicators for which a lower value was preferable and standardized each indicator using z-scores. To account for missing values, we imputed counties with only one missing value (n= 461) with the county calculated as most similar. This was done by comparing all of the remaining 26 indicators and calculating the sum of the absolute differences between the target county and all counties with complete data (known as “donor” counties). This type of “nearest neighbor” approach has been used before in other contexts, and in our 2024 Index. This time, we added one new step: Rather than imputing solely based on how similar a county was to other counties based on the Index indicators, we wanted to also include geographic proximity. Doing so made it a two-stage selection process, in which we selected the county with the closest distance out of a list of the ten most similar counties.
As in the 2024 Index, we computed a score for each pillar based on the distribution of chips Advisory Group members allocated. We then computed a weighted composite score — the overall index. Finally, we converted all index values to percentiles, which allows us to easily compare counties to each other. For example, an index score of 80 indicates that a county performed better than 80% of other counties in that particular pillar (or overall).
The Index and its accompanying indicators were then visualized to explore the data and better understand the score for each county.
Data Sources
| Pillar / Domain | Conceptual Category | Indicator | Description | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| News & Information | Lack of local news sources / presence of ‘news deserts’ | Total news outlets | Number of news outlets in each county, including newspapers, digital sites, public broadcasting and ethnic media. More news outlets are associated with higher civic health. | Medill Local News Initiative at Northwestern University |
| News & Information | Presence of journalists | Local Journalists per 100,000 population | The Local Journalist Equivalent (similar to a full-time equivalent or FTE in a workplace) for each county consists of reporters and freelancers (counted as a smaller percentage) who cover news in each county across digital, broadcast, print, podcasts, newsletters and social media (normalized per 100,000 people in a county). More local journalists are associated with higher civic health. | MuckRack |
| News & Information | Broadband access | Percent of households with broadband of any type | The percentage of households with broadband of any type. A higher percentage is associated with higher civic health. | American Community Survey |
| News & Information | Library utilization | Library visits per 10,000 population | The number of annual library visits from all libraries in a county per 10,000 population in that county. More library visits are associated with higher civic health. | Institute of Museum and Library Services Public Libraries Survey |
| News & Information | Vibrancy of online engagement on local issues | The number of Facebook Pages predicted to be “Public Good” pages based on page title, category, and other page characteristics, per 10,000 users in the county | The number of Facebook Pages predicted to be “Public Good” pages based on page title, category, and other page characteristics, per 10,000 users in the county. A higher rate is associated with higher civic health. | Opportunity Insights |
| News & Information | Language access / English language proficiency | Percent who speak a language other than English at home | The percentage of a county’s residents who speak a language other than English at home. Due to the challenges and potential barriers in multilingual environments, a lower percentage is associated with higher civic health. | American Community Survey |
| News & Information | Literacy levels | Average adult literacy scale score | The average adult (ages 16-74) literacy score according to the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). A higher score is associated with higher civic health. | Department of Education |
| Civic Participation Ecosystem | Engagement with political process | Voter turnout (votes/citizen voting age population) | The voter turnout is calculated as a percentage of the citizen voting age population who voted in the 2020 presidential election. A higher voter turnout is associated with higher civic health. | United States Election Assistance Commission, American Community Survey, North Dakota Secretary of State |
| Civic Participation Ecosystem | Ability to participate in political process | Voter registration | The voter registration rate is calculated as a percentage of the citizen voting age population who are active voters with verified addresses. Higher voter registration is associated with higher civic health. | United States Election Assistance Commission, American Community Survey |
| Civic Participation Ecosystem | Community centers / places where people come together | Number of membership associations per 10,000 population | The number of membership associations per 10,000 population, including civic organizations, sports organizations, religious, political, business, labor and professional organizations. A higher rate is associated with higher civic health. | County Health Rankings |
| Civic Participation Ecosystem | Volunteering | Percent of state residents who formally volunteered through organizations | The volunteer rate is the share of state residents who formally volunteered through organizations, as indicated on the Current Population Survey’s Civic Engagement and Volunteering Supplement. A higher volunteer rate is associated with higher civic health. | Current Population Survey Civic Engagement and Volunteering Supplement |
| Civic Participation Ecosystem | Giving and philanthropy | Percent of adjusted gross income that is charitable contributions | The percent of a county’s total adjusted gross income that is claimed as charitable contributions. A higher percent is associated with higher civic health. | IRS Statistics of Income |
| Civic Participation Ecosystem | Opportunities for participation in government / ability to inform government policies | 2020 Census self-response rate | The percentage of housing units that self-responded in the 2020 Census. A higher response rate is associated with higher civic health. | U.S. Census Bureau |
| Civic Participation Ecosystem | Civic engagement | County Civic Infrastructure Scale | The County Civic Infrastructure Scale measures the degree to which residents are civically engaged in their communities through activities such as attending public meetings, working with neighbors to solve problems, volunteering and participating in local groups. Higher civic engagement is associated with higher civic health. | Congressional Joint Economic Committee / Social Capital Project |
| Equity & Justice | Life expectancy | General life expectancy at birth | The number of years an individual in a particular county can expect to live. A higher life expectancy is associated with higher civic health. | County Health Rankings |
| Equity & Justice | Medical debt | Percent of people with a credit bureau record who have medical debt in collections | The percentage of people with a credit bureau record who have medical debt in collections. A lower percentage is associated with higher civic health. | Urban Institute |
| Equity & Justice | Youth disconnected from work and school | Percent of youth ages 16 to 19 who are not working or enrolled in school | The percentage of youth ages 16 to 19 who are neither working nor enrolled in school. A lower percentage is associated with higher civic health. | American Community Survey |
| Equity & Justice | Neighborhood poverty | Percentage of the population living in high-poverty neighborhoods | The percentage of a county’s population living in high-poverty neighborhoods, defined as census tracts with a poverty rate of 20 percent or higher. A lower rate is associated with higher civic health. | American Community Survey |
| Equity & Justice | Racial segregation | Black-White Dissimilarity Index | The Black-White Dissimilarity Index measures the degree to which Black and white residents live in separate neighborhoods within a county. Lower segregation is associated with higher civic health. | Diversity Data Kids |
| Health & Opportunity | Economic stability | Percent of population unemployed | The percentage of the county’s labor force population that is unemployed. A lower unemployment rate is associated with higher civic health. | Bureau of Labor Statistics: Local Area Unemployment Statistics |
| Health & Opportunity | Access to healthcare and preventative care | Percent of population under 65 uninsured | The percentage of the non-elderly population under age 65 that is uninsured. A lower uninsured rate is associated with higher civic health. | U.S. Census Bureau Small Area Health Insurance Estimates |
| Health & Opportunity | Access to education and lifelong learning | Percent of population age 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or higher | The percentage of the population age 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or higher. A higher educational attainment rate is associated with higher civic health. | American Community Survey |
| Health & Opportunity | Access to basic needs: housing, food, clean water and clean air | Median gross rent as a percentage of household income | The median gross rent as a percentage of household income in each county. A lower percentage spent on rent is associated with higher civic health. | American Community Survey |
| Health & Opportunity | Access to basic needs: housing, food, clean water and clean air | Percentage of population who lack adequate access to food | The percentage of people who did not have access to a reliable source of food during the past year. A lower percentage is associated with higher civic health. | County Health Rankings |
| Health & Opportunity | Access to transportation | Percent of households with no vehicle available | The percentage of households with no vehicle available. A lower percentage is associated with higher civic health. | American Community Survey |
| Health & Opportunity | Housing stability | Eviction filing rate | The eviction filing rate measures the share of renter households that received an eviction filing in a given year. Lower eviction filing rates are associated with higher civic health. | Eviction Lab at Princeton University |
| Health & Opportunity | Income inequality | Gini Index | The Gini Index measures income inequality within a county. Lower inequality is associated with higher civic health. | American Community Survey |