Note: Maps with local estimates are available for towns, state house districts, and state senate districts. Printable profiles for these geographic areas (in PDF format), containing additional statistical data, are also available on request.
In partnership with the United Way of Connecticut, DataHaven analyzed Census data to help Connecticut communities understand the potential impact of a proposed Connecticut Child Tax Credit (CT CTC) on local communities. We estimated how the proposed credits would be distributed across different geographic areas and by racial/ethnic group. Residents may find this information helpful when talking with elected officials about economic security, racial equity, and community well-being.
The CT CTC proposal we analyzed would allocate $600 per child annually, for up to three children per filing family. Single-filing families making less $100,000 per year, and joint-filers making less than $200,000 per year, would be eligible to receive the credit. The credit would be fully refundable, meaning that families without tax liability would receive the full value.
From July to December 2021, a Child Tax Credit at the national level provided advance payments to nearly all U.S. families with dependent children (including those previously excluded from eligibility) each month. This credit is widely considered to have had a significant impact, as it led to a large drop in food insecurity among families with children, both nationally as well as in Connecticut. We believe that a CT CTC would have measurable impacts on family economic well-being as well, assuming that it was of sufficient scale and reach.
To create local estimates, DataHaven collected counts of eligible families from the 2018-2022 U.S. Census American Community Survey. These were multiplied by estimates of the average number of eligible children per eligible family to get numbers of eligible children, which were multiplied by the $600 credit and added together to get total refund amounts for local areas including neighborhoods, towns, and legislative districts. More detail on our methodology may be found below.
DataHaven published interactive maps for towns, state house districts, and state senate districts. These maps are also posted on the United Way of Connecticut website.
Statewide, 75 percent of all households with children would receive the credit, amounting to $306 million in refunds to 268,000 eligible families (a separate analysis published this year by Connecticut Voices for Children found that this would include about 550,000 children, or 74 percent of children statewide).
Our maps show how CTC refunds would be distributed across the state. For example, 12,317 families in Waterbury would receive $14 million under the proposed plan. Families in Norwich would receive $4 million. One of the legislative districts where families with children would receive the highest refund amount (over $11 million to 9,706 households) is State Senate District 1, covering parts of Hartford and Wethersfield.
To analyze impacts by racial/ethnic group, we estimated shares of eligible families by race and ethnicity using microdata from the Census. Our analysis found that 91 percent of Latino households with children and 88 percent of Black households with children would be eligible for the credit, along with 68 percent and 65 percent of White and Asian households with children, respectively. Eligible Latino households would receive $80 million, and eligible Black households would receive $40 million (see table).
DataHaven plans to conduct more granular analysis on how the CT CTC and other proposed statewide legislation could impact each community in Connecticut, as well as different demographic groups within each community. We will also work with local partners to make this information more accessible, including by translating it into multiple languages. Please contact us with suggestions.
Detailed methodology notes
To estimate the number of households eligible for CT CTC, DataHaven used the Family Type by Presence of Own Children Under 18 By Income table (B19131) from the 2018-2022 American Community Survey (ACS). We used this to get counts of married family households with children that make less than $200,000 and non-married family households with children that make less than $100,000, by town and upper and lower legislative district. We added these together to get the total number of eligible households. To estimate the refund amount, we estimated the average number of eligible children per family household. We used the ACS (table B17012) to get counts of family households with 1 to 2 children, 3 to 4 children, and 5 or more children. Next, we computed the average number of eligible children with the following formula: 1.5*(the number of family households with 1 to 2 children) + 3*(the number of family households with 3 to 4 children) + 3*(the number of family households with 5 or more children). We divided this by the number of eligible households and rounded the result to get 1.9 eligible children per household. Finally, we multiplied the number of eligible households in each geographic area by 1.9 * $600 (the tax credit amount per child) to get the refund amount. Using this approach, we computed 268,000 eligible households in CT, costing a total of $306 million. Although estimation methods like these do not reflect the actual budgetary impacts or actual number of families that would receive the credit, we believe that this approach was best suited to estimating the potential impact of proposed legislation given the limitations of Connecticut data on local areas and other uncertainties. At the state level, our estimates are similar in magnitude to those that have been discussed by other organizations in Connecticut.
To estimate the distribution of the CT CTC by race/ethnicity, DataHaven used data on race (RAC1P), Hispanic origin (HISP), marital status (MAR), the family presence and age of children (FPARC), and family income (FINCP and ADJINC) from the U.S. Census 2017-2021 American Community Survey Public-Use Microdata Sample (PUMS), the most recent granular dataset that was available as of mid-January 2024. These variables were used to compute counts of all families and eligible families by race and ethnicity. Households were designated a race and ethnicity based on the race and ethnicity of the householder, and family households were identified using the FPARC variable. The count of eligible families was obtained using the MAR, FPARC, and FINCP variables: unmarried families with children making less than $100,000 (in inflation–adjusted dollars) and married families with children making less than $200,000 were flagged as eligible. Eligible families were divided by all families to get shares of eligible families by race and ethnicity. These shares were multiplied by the total counts of eligible families and refund amounts estimated using the ACS data to get counts of eligible families and refund amounts by race and ethnicity.
Data were analyzed using R statistical software by Andrew Carr, Ph.D., Data Analyst at DataHaven. Mark Abraham, MPH, Executive Director at DataHaven, contributed to the project concept and data graphics.
Regional Equity Reports
These reports for each Connecticut Regional Council of Governments (COG) planning region are designed to correspond with DataHaven’s Town Equity Reports. The DataHaven Town Equity Reports, available for each of the 169 towns in Connecticut, disaggregate data from the 2020 Census, American Community Survey microdata files, DataHaven Community Wellbeing Survey record-level files, and federal and state agencies to create relevant town-level information that is not available from any other source. These innovative and user-friendly reports are widely used to inform local- and state-level efforts to improve community well-being and racial equity throughout Connecticut. Reports for the CT COG regions are based on DataHaven’s analysis of data for each of the towns that comprise each region.
The 2023 Councils of Governments Regional Equity Reports are available here:
The 2023 editions of the regional and town reports represent version 2.0. Please see our Community Index reports and our statewide health equity report for a more thorough narrative discussion of the issues covered in these reports.
Other Resources
DataHaven collects and analyzes a large volume of data by town and regional areas (including COG and DMHAS regions). Based on user feedback, we may post additional resources related to these geographic areas here or elsewhere on our website.
Access the reports for all 169 Connecticut towns
The current reports represent version 2.0, and were published in August 2023 for all Connecticut towns (and many other geographic regions). Version 1.0 was released in 2021 and version 3.0 is planned for 2025.
Town-level data may also be found in our Connecticut Town Data Viewer, available on our Data Dashboard.
About the Reports
The DataHaven Town Equity Reports disaggregate data from the 2020 Census, American Community Survey microdata files, DataHaven Community Wellbeing Survey record-level files, and federal and state agencies to create relevant town-level information that is not available from any other source. These innovative and user-friendly reports are informing many local- and state-level efforts to improve community well-being and racial equity.
DataHaven has published reports for each of the 169 towns in Connecticut. Additionally, DataHaven has created reports for state agency service areas, counties, Councils of Governments (Census County Equivalent Entities), and many other areas, based on groupings of towns. Individual report graphics are available on request. Please contact DataHaven with suggestions for the next edition.
Reports for geographic regions
Reports for many larger geographic areas based on groupings of towns, such as DMHAS Regions, Councils of Governments (COG) service areas, hospital service areas, or custom-defined areas, may be found on the reports section of our website, or by request. These reports are designed to correspond with the town-level reports. Please contact us to learn more.
Data User Guides
A more thorough narrative discussion of the issues covered in the Town Equity Reports may be found in our Community Index reports and our statewide health equity report.
Acknowledgements
The town equity reports are supported by a generous grant from the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation. Support also comes from The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, Yale Cancer Center, and individual donors. This report was refined through suggestions and in-kind support from Sustainable CT as well as local organizations and residents throughout Connecticut. Support for the DataHaven Community Wellbeing Survey (DCWS), one of the key data sources used in this report, comes from more than 80 public and private partners. Major sponsors of the DCWS include the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, Fairfield County’s Community Foundation, Connecticut Community Foundation, Valley Community Foundation, Connecticut Health Foundation, Greater Waterbury Health Partnership, Health Improvement Alliance of Greater Bridgeport, Yale-New Haven Health, Hartford HealthCare, Nuvance Health, Trinity Health of New England, Stamford Health, Griffin Hospital, City of Hartford, Ledge Light Health District, and others. Visit DataHaven (ctdatahaven.org) for more information. This report was authored by Camille Seaberry, Kelly Davila, and Mark Abraham of DataHaven.
Suggested Citations
Seaberry, C., Davila, K., Abraham, M. (2023). [Town] Equity Report. New Haven, CT: DataHaven. Published August 2023. More information at ctdatahaven.org
Report document notes, clarifications, and errata
- In the education section of version 1.0 of the reports (2021/2022 versions), suspension rates are described as suspensions per 1,000 students. To clarify, this indicator is actually based on the number of students suspended at least once per 1,000 students. If a student has more than one suspension in a year, they only count towards this rate once.
- In the education section of a draft of version 2.0 of the reports (2023 draft versions), the document endnote for the SBAC ELA pass rate in Figure 8 did not fully describe the source used, and the methodology for creating estimates for the ELA pass rate for small groups needed to be modified to improve precision. We addressed both of these issues in the final versions of version 2.0 of the reports, posted here.
Regional Equity Reports
These reports for each of the State of Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS)’s five regional service areas are designed to correspond with DataHaven’s Town Equity Reports. The DataHaven Town Equity Reports, available for each of the 169 towns in Connecticut, disaggregate data from the 2020 Census, American Community Survey microdata files, DataHaven Community Wellbeing Survey record-level files, and federal and state agencies to create relevant town-level information that is not available from any other source. These innovative and user-friendly reports are widely used to inform local- and state-level efforts to improve community well-being and racial equity throughout Connecticut. Reports for the DMHAS regions are based on DataHaven’s analysis of data for each of the towns that comprise each region.
The 2023 DMHAS Region Equity Reports are available here:
The 2023 editions of the regional and town reports represent version 2.0. Please see our Community Index reports and our statewide health equity report for a more thorough narrative discussion of the issues covered in these reports.
Other Resources
DataHaven collects and analyzes a large volume of data by town and regional areas (including DMHAS and COG regions). Based on user feedback, we may post additional resources related to these geographic areas here or elsewhere on our website.
Introduction (excerpt)
This 2022 report is an update and expansion upon “An Assessment of Rural Health in Connecticut: Overview, Obstacles, and Opportunities” — the previous rural health assessment completed in 2015.
Public health data and ways of reporting that data have changed since the completion of the 2015 report. More datasets are now publicly available with estimates of health related indicators at a variety of geographic levels. Public health emphasis has also shifted to accommodate a better understanding of the social determinants that influence healthy behavior and help prevent major illnesses. With more detailed data, we can now disaggregate information by race/ethnicity, sex, and other demographic factors. As a result, public health reporting has seen a renewed focus on social and health equity.
Specific trends in health outcomes have also become more apparent. The alarming rise of fentanyl in the illicit drug supply has led to steep increases in drug related fatalities, and the opioid epidemic has been recognized as being multifaceted—affecting rural and urban populations differently. Finally, the COVID-19 pandemic has been one of the most turbulent public health crises in a lifetime, upending social and economic foundations that influence overall health and wellbeing, exposing deep inequities in health care quality and access, and testing the resilience of the health care sector.
This report documents the nature of public health for Connecticut’s rural populations with a renewed focus on trends to better capture how these populations are changing. Disaggregations by race/ethnicity and age are used to better understand the health needs of different populations.
Also, notably, this report shifts away from geographical groupings of rural towns in favor of demographic groupings of towns to better describe the ways that social determinants of health vary across populations, and affect health behaviors and outcomes.
Executive Summary (excerpt)
GROUPING RURAL TOWNS
- Three distinct groups of rural towns were revealed, based on resident age, educational attainment, and income.
- Type One Towns have fewer adults with post-secondary education and lower median household incomes compared to the other rural towns.
- Type Two Towns have higher than average shares of residents age 65 and over compared to the other rural towns.
- Type Three Towns have very high median household incomes and are usually closer in proximity to Connecticut’s larger cities.
DEMOGRAPHICS & SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH
- Population in rural towns has declined slightly between 2010 and 2020.
- Younger generations are more racially and ethnically diverse.
- There are rising shares of high-needs students in public schools, suggesting that educational and social services resources for children are as important as ever.
- Income disparities like poverty, financial insecurity, and food insecurity are not evenly distributed across the population. Due to the legacy of racial discrimination in employment, housing, and education, Black, Latino, and Native American populations are more likely to experience these challenges. These populations are more prevalent in Type One Towns.
HEALTHCARE SYSTEM ASSETS & RESOURCES
- Residents of rural towns in Connecticut face longer drive times to health care facilities than the state average.
- In rural counties, there are fewer primary care providers and dentists per person compared to the state’s more urban counties.
- According to HRSA, Type One Towns have Primary Care and Dental Health Health Provider Shortage Areas, while Type Two and Type Three Towns do not.
- Workforce projections for Connecticut show that Family Practice doctors are in high demand and short supply, which may negatively affect children’s health care access.
HEALTH RISKS & BEHAVIORS
- Low-income adults and people of color are more likely to lack a person or place they consider their doctor, and are also more likely to have skipped or delayed necessary medical care.
- About 30 percent of adults statewide and in rural areas have a BMI that qualifies them as obese. Obesity is related to many other health issues such as diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.
- Adults in Type One Towns are more likely to engage in risky health behaviors, such as binge drinking and smoking. These behaviors are related to higher rates of financial insecurity, which is elevated higher in Type One Towns.
- Adults in Type One Towns also have higher rates of hospital encounters compared to adults statewide and in other rural areas.
HEALTH OUTCOMES
- Type Two Towns, with higher shares of adults over age 65, have elevated rates of chronic health issues.
- Type One and Type Two Towns have higher shares of children with elevated blood-lead levels.
- Rural towns in general have about 3 times the rate of people diagnosed with Lyme disease.
- Non-rural towns have higher rates of death due to COVID-19 than rural towns, although Type One Towns trend close to non-rural rates.
- Rural areas generally have more positive birth outcomes than the state average, but these should be monitored closely as labor and delivery wards in rural hospitals are closed.
- Drug-related fatalities continue to increase year over year. Fentanyl is a major driver in the rise in overdose deaths, statewide and in Type One Towns.
- Despite average life expectancies in rural towns that track close with the state average. As of 2015, wide gaps within rural clusters are apparent.
- COVID-19 caused a jump in all-cause mortality in 2020, but cancer and heart disease remain the top causes of death.
- Annually, Type One Towns have higher premature death rates the state average.
Click the link at the top of the page to download the full report.
Background
Data about residents’ visits to hospitals and emergency rooms may be used as an tool to examine variations in health and quality of life by geography and within specific populations. Unless otherwise noted, all information in this profile is based on a DataHaven analysis (2022) of 2018-2021 CHIME data provided by the Connecticut Hospital Association upon request from a special study agreement with partner hospitals and DataHaven. The CHIME hospital encounter data extraction included de-identified information for each of several million Connecticut hospital and emergency department encounters incurred by any residents of any town in Connecticut. Any encounter incurred by any resident of these towns at any Connecticut hospital would be included in this dataset, regardless of where they received treatment.
In order to develop statewide geographic benchmark comparisons within the CHIME data that could be used to provide context, DataHaven developed a statewide aggregate as well as rates for individual Connecticut towns and regions. Comparisons should be made with caution, especially when examining data for towns or regions near the state border, given that residents in those towns may have been more likely to receive treatment at hospitals located outside of the state in some cases.
Each encounter observation had a unique encounter ID and was populated with one or more “indicator flags” representing a variety of conditions. Each encounter could include multiple indicator flags. Annualized encounter rates were calculated for the indicator flags assigned within the dataset including Asthma, COPD, Substance Abuse, and many other conditions. Analyses in this document describe data on “all hospital encounters” including inpatient, emergency department (ED), and observation encounters. Annualized encounter rates per 10,000 persons were calculated for the period from 2018 to October 2021 by merging CHIME data with population data.
For each geographic area and indicator, our analysis generally included an annualized encounter rate for populationsin each of five age strata (0-19, 20-44, 45-64, 65-74, and 75+ years), and by gender, as well as a single age-adjusted annualized encounter rate. DataHaven also calculated rates by race, but those results are not included in this document because we believe that the collection of race/ethnicity data is not yet standardized in a way that allows for accurate comparisons across geographic areas. In some cases, results are not included in this report if the number of observations and/or populations in any given area were very small. It is important to note that there is no way todiscern the unique number of individuals in any zip code, town, area, or region who experienced hospital encounters during the period under examination or the number of encounters that represented repeat encounters by the same individual for the same or different conditions. To better examine encounter rates for asthma, the age-strata used to calculate asthma encounter rates differed from age groupings used for the other disease encounter types (0-4, 5-19, 20-44, 45-64, 65-74, and 75+ years).
Report Availability
Public CHNA CHIME data profiles for each Connecticut town and hospital service area have been distributed to hospitals, local health departments, and community health partners in each region of the state. They are available on request from DataHaven, or may be posted here upon request.
Complete sets of documents related to each hospital’s Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA), including these public CHNA CHIME data profiles and other relevant reports by DataHaven, will be posted on each hospital’s website. Data from the reports are also included in CHNA-related documents, such as DataHaven’s series of Community Wellbeing Index reports.
In response to requests from local partners, DataHaven developed a report (see below) with our original analyses and visualizations of public data related to the coronavirus pandemic. Initially published in March 2020, the report was frequently updated as new data were posted through June 2022. Further updates will be done less frequently or on request. We have also created many other charts and datasets available on request.
In June 2020, we released a publication on health equity and COVID-19, (ctdatahaven.org/healthequity), and in September 2020 we released results from the statewide COVID-19 Response Wave of the DataHaven Community Wellbeing Survey (ctdatahaven.org/wellbeingsurvey). The DataHaven survey was also conducted in 2021 and 2022. Other resources include our page on trusted information about COVID-19 in Connecticut, our data dashboard for disaggregated, neighborhood-level information on the many social and economic factors that relate to the impact of the virus, and our blog for extensive media coverage of our work.
For better viewing in some browsers or small devices, please rotate your screen or click here to open a full-screen version in a new browser window.
Over the last ten years, neighborhoods within Connecticut’s towns and cities have seen changes in population, housing, and ethnic and racial makeup. New local data from the 2020 Census, released on August 12, 2021, allows for the most accurate analysis of these neighborhood-level demographic changes and trends since the last census in 2010.
This series of DataHaven reports visualizes and discusses changes within our state’s larger communities. Please see the menu (above or at right) to navigate to report pages for different cities and towns, including Bridgeport, Stamford, New Haven, and Hartford, with more to be posted in the future.
We may also post additional material as even more granular data are released from the U.S. Census Bureau throughout 2021 and 2022.
Other relevant resources
- DataHaven analysis of changes from the 2010 to 2020 Census in all CT towns (easy to use file)
- Our comprehensive Community Index reports, including for Greater Hartford, Fairfield County, Greater New Haven, and the Valley
- The DataHaven Town Equity Reports, available for all 169 towns in Connecticut, include 2020 Census data
- Our Connecticut City Neighborhood Profiles, which have current neighborhood-level socioeconomic and health data
- DataHaven community profile pages, which have additional social indicators for each town
- U.S. Census Bureau 2020 Census Results page
DataHaven is a formal affiliate of the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership in Washington, DC. Since 1992, we have developed neighborhood-level profiles and analyses using census data from approximately 1950 to the present. Need more information for your neighborhood or want to see your town featured here (even if it’s a small town with just two or three neighborhoods)? Please contact us to discuss.
Published by the Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut and DataHaven, this Report on The Status of Women and Girls in Eastern Connecticut is designed to be a platform for action to increase opportunity, access and equity for women and girls in Eastern Connecticut. Based on extensive data analysis, including data from the DataHaven Community Wellbeing Survey, as well as a review of qualitative information about the region, the report reviews key topics such as demographics, economic security, education, health and well-being, and community leadership.
A summary version of the report is posted on the CFECT website.
Key findings include:
- The population of women ages 65 and up is projected to grow significantly over the next decade.
- Young women are achieving in school, but greater educational attainment has yet to translate to economic equality.
- Positive educational outcomes and economic equality are further out of reach for women of color.
- Many occupations remain segregated by gender, and women make up a majority of parttime workers.
- Women are at greater risk of financial insecurity, with single mothers at the greatest risk.
- Overall, women in Eastern Connecticut have significantly better birth outcomes than the rest of the state, yet disparities exist.
- The opioid epidemic continues to ravage our communities, with deaths of women in 2016 more than double those of 2012.
- Young women are at heightened risk for many mental health conditions.
- Violence against women continues to be a major public health problem.