Community Outcomes Data

Sources & Methodology

Overview

This dashboard was created through an 18-month collaborative effort involving direct service providers, local program evaluators, community members, and data professionals across Montgomery County. Together, these partners selected meaningful indicators to better understand the conditions, strengths, and opportunities within our schools and neighborhoods.

The goal of this tool is to support community members, families, service providers, elected officials, youth, and local leaders in using reliable, place-based data to guide decisions, shape programming, and inform policy.

This report prioritizes place as the central lens through which data is organized and interpreted. Data is structured around school buildings and neighborhoods (represented by census tracts) to help users understand what is happening at the most local levels. By focusing on community conditions, the dashboard is designed to support place-based strategies that recognize the unique assets and challenges in each part of Montgomery County.

Data Sources

American Community Survey (ACS) – Neighborhood-Level Data

Neighborhood-level data are drawn from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, which provide detailed information on population, housing, education, and economic well-being at the census tract level. These data serve as proxies for neighborhood conditions.

B15003 Educational attainment of adults age 25+ from no formal schooling through doctorate degrees

B17003 & B17018

Poverty status of individuals and families by sex, family type, and educational attainment

B19001

Household income by detailed income brackets

B20004

Median earnings by sex and educational attainment

B21003

Veteran status by educational attainment

B25002, B25070, B25091, B25106

Housing characteristics: occupancy, rent and mortgage burden, and housing cost as a % of income

B27019

Health insurance status by age and educational attainment

DP03

Selected economic characteristics, including employment status, income, and poverty indicators

S1101, DP04

Household structure and selected housing unit values

C15002A–I

Educational attainment by race/ethnicity and sex for adults age 25+

B23025

Employment status for the population 16 and older

B01001

Age and sex breakdown of the population

CDC PLACES – Neighborhood-Level Health & Well-being

Health-related and social determinant data are sourced from the CDC’s PLACES Project, which provides modeled estimates at the census tract level using data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). These indicators estimate adult health outcomes and barriers to well-being.

Lack of health insurance (ages 18–64)

Percentage of adults without insurance

Depression

Adults ever diagnosed with a depressive disorder

Feeling socially isolated

Adults reporting social isolation

Food insecurity (past 12 months)

Adults reporting difficulty affording food

Frequent mental or physical distress

Adults reporting ≥14 days of poor mental or physical health in the past month

Housing insecurity (past 12 months)

Adults worried about losing housing

Lack of reliable transportation

Adults unable to access consistent transportation

Lack of social/emotional support

Adults reporting inadequate support

No leisure-time physical activity

Adults reporting no exercise outside of work

Short sleep duration

Adults sleeping less than 7 hours per night

Received SNAP (past 12 months)

Adults receiving food stamps

Utility shut-off threat (past 12 months)

Adults threatened with utility disconnection

Visited dentist / doctor in past year

Access to routine health and dental care

All data are modeled at the census tract level to reflect local neighborhood conditions.

Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (ODEW) – School Building-Level Data

Academic performance and educational readiness indicators are sourced from the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (ODEW) and reflect publicly reported data at the individual school building level. These indicators highlight progress at key points along the student journey from kindergarten through high school.

Kindergarten Readiness (KRA-R)

Students classified as Emerging, Approaching, or Demonstrating Readiness in early skills

Third Grade Reading Proficiency

Students proficient or higher on Ohio’s Grade 3 English Language Arts assessment

Eighth Grade Math Proficiency

Students proficient or higher on Ohio’s Grade 8 Mathematics assessment

Four-Year High School Graduation Rate

Percentage of students graduating within four years of entering Grade 9

Geographic Level: School building

Timeframe: School years 2018–2019 through 2023–2024

Geographic Crosswalks and Mapping Resources

To enable place-based analysis of educational, economic, and social data, geographic crosswalks and mapping resources are employed to align disparate data sources at consistent levels of geography.

NCES School District–to–Census Tract Crosswalk

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) school district–to–census tract crosswalk is used to match educational datasets reported at the school district level to U.S. Census Bureau demographic and economic data available at the census tract level. This crosswalk accounts for instances where census tracts overlap multiple school districts and applies proportional allocation based on residential population.

Missouri Census Data Center’s GeoCorr 2022 Application

For geographic entities not directly linked in existing crosswalk datasets—such as cities, townships, or custom regions—the Missouri Census Data Center’s Geographic Correspondence Engine (GeoCorr 2022) is used to generate allocation tables. This tool enables mapping between different geographic units (e.g., townships to census tracts or cities to school districts) using census block-level population weights. The application is available at: https://mcdc.missouri.edu/applications/geocorr2022.html.

TIGER/Line Shapefiles – Montgomery County, Ohio

U.S. Census Bureau Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (TIGER/Line) shapefiles are used to produce geographic boundary maps for Montgomery County, Ohio, including census tracts, municipal boundaries, and other relevant geographic layers. These shapefiles provide the spatial framework for integrating and visualizing datasets across multiple geographic levels.

Data Limitations

Small Demographic Group Data Masking: In accordance with FERPA and HIPAA, any group with fewer than 10 individuals within a school building or census tract geography is masked (displayed as “<10”) to protect privacy. When viewing multiple masked values across buildings or census tracts that roll up into a larger area, cumulative data loss may occur. This limitation may be amplified in dashboards that allow users to compare or aggregate multiple school buildings within the same report. Users seeking comprehensive statistics at broader geographic levels (e.g., city, county, state) are encouraged to consult additional sources such as the Ohio Department of Education, CDC, National Student Clearinghouse, American Community Survey, Bureau of Labor Statistics, or the U.S. Census Bureau.

Special Thanks

This work reflects the knowledge and lived experience of many contributors. Special thanks to the Montgomery County 2 Generation Outcomes Committee and community partners who guided the development of this dashboard.

Contributors: