Quality of Life Indicators/Data Sources
After exploring data sources for the Thrive economic region in 2008, the following data sources have been identified as good sources of data for a variety of quality of life issues here in Wisconsin. The vast majority of the sites listed here provide information at the County and/or municipal level. If you have any additional sources that you would like to see added to this list, please contact Andy Lewis, andy.lewis@uwex.edu. For a list of quality of life data sources that focus on state rankings and larger MSA's, see: EconData.net
The American Human Development Project also has a wealth of data on states with interactive maps illustrating data ranging from obesity rates to the number of army recruits. In addition, the Compendium of Sustainable Development Indicator Initiatives, International Institute of Sustainable Development, offers a searchable on-line database of indicator initiatives around the globe.
The Kewaukee County Quality of Life Report (2012) by Andrew Bernhardt and Greg Wise is now available. This report identifies the significance the assets of Kewaunee County play in developing social capital within the community
Using Quality of LIfe Indicators (2012) by Greg Wise is from the International Community Development Society Annual Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio. This presentation highlights how to identify and develop Community Capitals through Quality of Life Indicators
LIFE AT SCHOOL
High School Graduation Rates - Wisconsin's Information Network for Successful Schools (WINSS) Database. Select your school or district within Wisconsin, select, "How are students performing academically?", then select, "What are the High School Completion Rates?".
Post High School Graduation Plans - Wisconsin's Information Network for Successful Schools (WINSS) Database. Select your school or district within Wisconsin, select, "How are students performing academically?", then select, "What are the Students' post-graduation plans?".
LIVING A HEALTHY LIFE
Health Insurance Coverage -Wisconsin Family Health Survey results, DHFS, released 4-28-2008. A separate data page is available for each of the 44 counties where there was a sufficient number of survey responses to produce reliable estimates; for each of the five DHS regions; and for the state as a whole.
Childhood Immunization Compliance, Prenatal Care, mortality rates, preventable hospitalizations, and other Health Indicators - 2005 Public Health Profiles generated by DHFS
Obesity Rates, general health status, binge drinking, smoking, exercise, etc. - Behavioral Risk Factors Survey, All Counties (2004-2006 Combined Data). Scroll down the page and select the topic that you are interested in, then select the County, then click on "submit". A "WISH Query Confirmation" screen will appear - click on "Ok"
Health Statistics A-Z - Quick Facts from DHS . This page provides links to health statistics and health care information in handy summary formats. Reports and fact sheets draw upon a variety of data sources
Cause of Death (By County 2001-2004) - Mortality Measures, Wisconsin State Health Plan 2010
Community Health Status Indicators Report, U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services - contains over 200 measures ofr each of the 3,141 United States Counties.
Wisconsin County Health Rankings (2003-2008) from the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. See also, the Health of Wisconsin Report Card 2007.
LIFE AT WORK
Poverty Rate (2005), Average Wage per job (2007), Per Capita Personal Income (2006), Population Growth (1990-2007), (County data only), etc.- There are numerous sources for this data, but we would recommend Stats Indiana. Select "state" and "county", then "get data".
Sustainable Wage (The wage required to support a household's basic needs without any public assistance). Wisconsin Women's Network . If you would like this in a Microsoft Excel format, go the UWEX CCED web site. You could compare the self sufficiency wage for several different kinds of households to the average wage per job data listed above.
LIFE AT HOME
Home ownership rate, percentage of households with a housing cost burden/severe housing cost burden (2000), fair market rent for two bedroom apartment (2006), average dollar amount of home purchase loan (2006), median borrower income for owner occupied purchase (2005) - DataPlace. Simply type in a place name at the top of the page, then view the housing section of the "overview" page, and then click on the "housing" tab and the "mortgage lending" tabs at the top of the page.
Foreclosure civil cases by county - This data is available on the Center for Community and Economic Development web site (2000-2007 as well as quarterly updates for 2008). If you would like to view a brief ten minute video tutorial on how to obtain this data for your County on the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access Program web site, click here.
Residential Building Permits - Stats Indiana. Select "state" and "county", then "get data", "all", and scroll down to "residential building permits for 2007"
Number of food stamp recipients/# of WIC participants/% of households that are food insecure/# of food pantries/ - Wisconsin food Security Profiles (Applied Population Center, U.W. Extension) Food security profiles with all of this data by County can be obtained by selecting the "standard profiles" option on the left hand side of the page. The "data for all counties" option allows you to get county level data for all counties on a single indicator. The "mapping county data" option allows you to create state and county maps to display data.
Marriages, Divorces, and annulments (# by County, 2007) - Wisconsin Marriages and Divorces, 2007
PUBLIC SAFETY
Violent crimes per 10,000 population - FBI, 2006 Crime in the United States
Bureau of Justice, Crime & Justice Electronic Data Abstracts — Criminal justice data for states, counties, and cities.
Wisconsin Juvenile Corrections Commitments by County (2002-2006), Characteristics (age, sex, race) , type of offense
Wisconsin Department of Corrections Weekly Institution Population reports (Total number of prisoners by facility)
LIFE TOGETHER - CIVICS AND DIVERSITY
Voter participation rates - State Elections Board (2006 November Elections)
Religous affiliation - Association of Religion Data Archives. The ARDA allows you to interactively explore data on American and international religion using online features for generating national profiles, GIS maps, church membership overviews, denominational heritage trees, tables, charts, and other reports. Over 450 surveys and other data collections are available for online preview and virtually all can be downloaded free of charge.
Charitable Giving/Charitable Organizations. The National Center for Charitable Statistics provides estimates on the number of charitable (501(c)(3)) organizations in the U.S. and by state (1996 and 2006). Nonprofit Organizations in Wisconsin have to register with the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions and a list of nonprofits can be purchased from the Corporate and Consumer Services division of DFI for a very small fee. This data base does not have a "County" field but it can be sorted by zip code (Contact Andy Lewis if you would like assistance with this).
Volunteering in America: 2007 State Trends and Rankings in Civic Live, Corporation for National and Community Service- Good data but only available at the State level.
LIFE ON THE ROAD
Mean travel time to work/commuting to work ('00 and '06 for metro counties) - American Community Survey . This page takes you to "selected economic characteristics" for Dane County Wisconsin. To switch to a different county, click on "geography" at the top of the page and then select the County that you are interested in. Currently ACS data is only available for places and metropolitan areas with populations of 65,000 or more. In December, 2008 ACS data will include all geographic areas with populations of 20,000 or more.
Number of traffic fatalities/licensed drivers/bike crashes/pedestrian crashes/drunk driving (2006 by County) - Wisconsin Traffic Crash Facts
Walkability - Walk Score Despite its flaws, its worth a look. This index is provided for a neighborhood as opposed to a community or a county and the business database has many flaws (for example, when I looked at my neighborhood, the Middleton Birth Center appears as the closest fitness center....now there is a way to lose some weight!). More importantly, the algorithm is based strictly on distance. There is no consideration of whether or not there are sidewalks, trails, or paths, or whether you have to cross major highways to reach major amenities.
LIFE IN OUR NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
Land in farms, acres, crops sold directly to the consumer for human consumption, etc. , (2002...2006 will be available soon) - 2002 Census of Agriculture Select Table 8 for land in farms (data for all 72 counties will be displayed). For a complete County agricultural profile, click here and then click here.
Air pollution emissions/toxic chemical emissions/# of superfund sites/# of housing units with high risk of lead exposure - Scorecard, the pollution information site To view county level data, select what you want to measure/rank in the "by county" drop down menu. In the "In" drop down menu, select the State you are interested in and it will provide you the data for that indicator for all counties along with a county ranking.
The Environmental Defense Fund provides Data on air pollution, lead hazards, land contamination, animal waste, chemical releases, water quality, and watersheds, for states and counties, with rankings on their Scorecard web site.
Quality of public water supply - DNR Drinking Water System Public Water Supply Systems Data For financial benchmark/performance data, see: Utility Benchmark Report
Groundwater Quality - Protecting Wisconsin's Groundwater Through Comprehensive Planning, USGS Information for every WI county about groundwater/drinking water quality from both public and private wells and potential contaminants.
Air Quality statistics by County and City (2005 & 2006) - Air quality Monitoring Information, EPA
Envirofacts - The EPA provides environmental information for any zip code, city or County in the U.S. Includes # of faciliites releasing air pollutants, # of facilities reporting toxic releases, # of hazardous waste generators, # of discharges to water, etc. See also the EPA's Window to my Environment which provides a wide range of federal, state, and local information about environmental conditions and features at the zip code, and municipal level (includes mapping features).
The Weather Channel - Local data (City or zip code) regarding average local weather conditions, including average temperatures, record temperatures, rainfall, and sunrise and sunset times
