Update to PolicyMap-Exclusive Data

We’ve recently made a change regarding the availability of certain datasets on PolicyMap.

PolicyMap has a number of powerful datasets that are exclusive to PolicyMap or licensed from an outside source. These datasets are available only through a subscription or enterprise license. A few of our datasets, though partially derived from public data, require extensive analysis by the PolicyMap data team in order to be of practical use by data users. The published data, after our analysis, is unique to PolicyMap. Therefore, indicators from the following datasets that previously were publicly available are now available only to subscribers and enterprise license customers:

Home ownership and rental affordability

These estimates provide information on relative availability of home ownership and opportunities and affordability of rental housing in different areas nationally. They can highlight any needs or shortcomings in the locally available housing stock of a given area. PolicyMap develops these local indicators by relating HUD affordability guidelines and ACS housing data.

Cost of college

Estimates of the average per-student cost of tuition and fees and total costs of a public university education provide policy makers with insight into level of investment in public university education by the states. PolicyMap uses institution-level data published by NCES to produce enrollment-weighted cost estimates for each state.

Home Mortgage Data

Information on home mortgage loans and denials helps policy makers and planners understand local housing markets and racial inequities in home mortgage lending. PolicyMap uses data on home mortgage loan applications collected by large banks as a result of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act and published by FFIEC to calculate hundreds of indicators on this important topic.

Health Outcomes and Risk Factors

PolicyMap has created neighborhood-level estimates of how many people are affected by over a dozen health outcomes and risk factors, such as diabetes, COPD, and smoking. Our researchers created these estimates using a statistical analysis of responses from the CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey combined with geographic, socioeconomic, and demographic data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

We strongly believe in making data available to people that need it. Providing these datasets to users with a subscription helps ensure our ability to do this. If these datasets could increase your understanding of and help make smarter decisions about your community, consider becoming a subscriber.