Community resilience is the capacity of individuals and households to absorb, endure, and recover from the health, social, and economic impacts of a disaster such as a hurricane or pandemic.  When disasters occur, recovery depends on the community’s ability to withstand the effects of the event. In order to facilitate disaster preparedness, the Census Bureau has developed new small area estimates, identifying communities where resources and information may effectively mitigate the impact of disasters. 

Variation in individual and household characteristics are determining factors in the differential impact of a disaster. Some groups are less likely to have the capacity and resources to overcome the obstacles presented during a hazardous event.  Resilience estimates can aid stakeholders and public health officials in modeling these differential impacts and developing plans to reduce a disaster’s potential effects.

Individual and household characteristics from the 2022 American Community Survey (ACS) were modeled, in combination with data from to Population Estimates Program to create the CRE.

Components of Social Vulnerability from the 2022 ACS include:

• Income to Poverty Ratio
• Single or Zero Caregiver Household
• Crowding
• Communication Barrier
• Households without Full-time, Year-round Employment
• Disability
• No Health Insurance
• Age 65+
• No Vehicle Access
• No Broadband Internet Access

The thematic components of social vulnerability map classifies the data into categories based on natural breaks in the distribution, rounded for clarity.