Data to Action

At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one of our major contributions to public health is delivering data for action. Whether it is monitoring annual trends in the obesity epidemic or helping states track leading causes of death, data are the foundation and driver of the decisions we make and the programs we deliver.

CDC has created new data and analysis tools that are intended to serve as resources for you in the promotion of policy, system and environmental changes to improve health:

Sortable Stats

An interactive data set composed of 20 behavioral risk factors and health indicators, the Sortable Stats site compiles state-level data for all 50 states and Washington, D.C. The tool links to related CDC resources – including Vital Signs, MMWR, NCHS Vital Statistics and the Health Indicators Warehouse – to create quick connections to additional information and guidance about how to address these health challenges.

With the Sortable Stats tool, you can:

• View, sort and compare health data by State, Geographic region or Federal region.
• View health data by demographic categories (e.g., race, gender, age) and historical trends for states.
• Save graphs and maps as images that demonstrate state trends and incidence rates.

Visit the Sortable Stats website or

View the sortable stats as an Excel Spreadsheet [Excel - 987KB] or download the Sortable Stats Data Sources [PDF - 260KB].

Policy Implementation Analyses

The Winnable Battles policy implementation analyses provide state-level information about adoption of policy best practices. The downloadable tables provide an analysis of the implementation of state policy interventions and provide in-depth data for certain Winnable Battle health indicators. Visit the Policy Implementation Analyses page.

Burden Assessments

The site provides graphs that identify the extent to which each state contributes to the national public health burden. In many cases, a small number of states account for a large proportion of the burden (this is commonly known as the Pareto principle or the 80-20 rule). Visit the Burden Assessments page.

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