Health Insurance x Education Level in Appalachia

This map uses centroid dots to examine the relationship between a lack of health insurance and a limited education level in the Appalachia region of the eastern US. It compares the percentage of people living without health insurance, denoted by the dot color, to the percentage whose educational attainment is less than a high school diploma, denoted by the dot size.

This map is important because it highlights which areas of Appalachia are experiencing severity in either, or especially both, of these areas of disadvantage. We can see the way trends change distinctly along geographic or political boundaries, most visibly at the border between TN and NC to the south, and KY and VA to the north. It also prompts us to consider the reasons why a person might lack either health insurance or a higher educational attainment, and to what extent these two experiences could be related.

Click the link to explore, and see what you learn!