Census Bureau Releases Update to Community Resilience Estimates for Heat

JULY 16, 2024 - The U.S. Census Bureau today released the 2022 Community Resilience Estimates (CRE) for Heat, an experimental data product that measures social vulnerability to extreme heat.

While the standard CRE measures the social vulnerability that inhibits community resilience, the experimental CRE for Heat has new components of social vulnerability and information to account for exposure. Community resilience is the capacity of individuals and households within a community to absorb the external stresses of a disaster.

This latest version contains updates to better measure vulnerability and exposure to extreme heat, such as using data from the 2021 American Housing Survey to predict if a household has an air-conditioning unit.

The 2022 CRE for Heat is produced in collaboration with Arizona State University's Knowledge Exchange for Resilience using information on individuals and households from the Census Bureau's 2022 American Community Survey (ACS) and the Population Estimates Program (PEP).

Local planners, policymakers, public health officials and community stakeholders can use the estimates as one tool to help assess the potential resiliency of communities and plan mitigation and recovery strategies. The CRE uses small area modeling techniques and can be modified for a broad range of uses (hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, economic recovery, etc.).

These data are also included in My Community Explorer, a tool that helps users identify potentially underserved areas in their state, county and community. Information on methodological changes can be found in the Quick Guide, in addition to other technical documentation for CRE for Heat.

No news release associated with this product. Tip sheet only.

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