500 Cities: Local Data for Better Health

The CDC + The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

The 500 Cities project is a collaboration between CDC, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the CDC Foundation. The purpose of the 500 Cities Project is to provide city- and census tract-level small area estimates for chronic disease risk factors, health outcomes, and clinical preventive service use for the largest 500 cities in the United States. These small area estimates will allow cities and local health departments to better understand the burden and geographic distribution of health-related variables in their jurisdictions, and assist them in planning public health interventions.

This resource will be useful to not just health departments but advocates, city planners, philanthropy and others. For example, urban planners could use the data to determine the best locations for new sidewalks, bike lanes, bus lanes, parks, or playgrounds based on obesity, blood pressure, heart disease or exercise data.

Learn more about the 500 Cities Project