DCI - sporedata/researchdesigneR GitHub Wiki
General description
The Distressed Communities Index (DCI) analyzes financial health at the zip code level to give a thorough overview of the uneven distribution of American affluence. The textured—and profoundly unequal—story of how national development and wealth lift or leave behind specific towns and the inhabitants who call them home is lost when we merely look at the health of the U.S. economy in aggregate terms. The DCI is an effort to comprehend the geographic distribution of economic prosperity in the United States. It serves as a prism through which we may assess if and to what extent the nation genuinely satisfies its claim to be a land of opportunity.
The DCI's main feature is an interactive map that enables users to look up data by state's congressional districts, counties, and zip codes. The American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates and Business Patterns data from the U.S. Census Bureau for 2014 to 2018 are used to create the DCI. It includes around 25,500 zip codes and 95% of the population of the United States.
- Leading national and local news outlets use the DCI to contextualize the nation's unequal economic situation.
- The DCI is used by state, local, and nonprofit organizations to focus resources and programs on underserved areas.
- The DCI is used in the work of academics, private enterprises, and healthcare providers.
- The DCI guides federal policies at the national level to create a more equal and balanced geography for national economic growth.