CDC Social Vulnerability Index

Purpose

The CDC Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) uses 15 U.S. census variables to identify communities needing support before, during, or after disasters. It provides social vulnerability data at the state, county, and census tract levels across the U.S.

Woman in front of broken building. Place matters. GRASP.
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Woman in front of broken building. Place matters. GRASP.

Resource information

Resource: CDC Social Vulnerability Index

Target audiences

  • Public health professionals
  • Emergency managers
  • Local government

Target situation

Public health professionals use this resource to assess the degree of social vulnerability in communities at risk of environmental catastrophes.

Social vulnerability data can be broken down into four components:

  1. Socioeconomic status
  2. Minority status
  3. Household composition
  4. Housing/transportation

The toolkit points to several groups and projects that have utilized social vulnerability data to identify at-risk groups.

Main objective

Prepare

Secondary objective

Community Preparation

Resource type

Toolkit

Publication year

2018

Case study

This case study provides an overview of the SVI. It offers a case study of vulnerabilities of communities affected by Hurricane Katrina to show the potential value of the SVI.

Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management: A social vulnerability index for disaster management

The following provides a general overview of the social vulnerability index:

Journal of Environmental Health. Measuring community vulnerability to natural and anthropogenic hazards: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Social Vulnerability Index

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Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry