TABLE 1—
Selected Local Health Department (LHD) Personnel and Organizational Characteristics and Community Demographics, Stratified by Rural–Urban Designation: United States, 2021
| Total, No. (%) or Mean ±SD | Rural, No. (%) or Mean ±SD | Urban, No. (%) or Mean ±SD | P | |
| LHD Personnel | ||||
| Total sample | 29 751 (100) | 4 845 (16) | 24 906 (84) | |
| Gender | < .001 | |||
| Male | 5 355 (18) | 662 (14) | 4 693 (19) | |
| Female | 23 518 (79) | 4 037 (83) | 19 481 (79) | |
| Nonbinary/other | 488 (2) | 77 (2) | 411 (2) | |
| Age, y | .1 | |||
| < 31 | 3 877 (13) | 588 (12) | 3 289 (15) | |
| 31–50 | 12 995 (44) | 2 077 (43) | 10 918 (44) | |
| ≥ 50 | 9 936 (33) | 1 708 (35) | 8 228 (33) | |
| Race/ethnicity | < .001 | |||
| American Indian or Alaska Native | 276 (1) | 69 (1) | 207 (1) | |
| Asian | 1 810 (6) | 86 (2) | 1 724 (7) | |
| Black or African American | 4 327 (15) | 306 (6) | 4 021 (16) | |
| Hispanic or Latino | 5 749 (19) | 504 (10) | 5 245 (21) | |
| Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander | 95 (0.3) | 9 (0.2) | 86 (0.4) | |
| White | 15 484 (52) | 3 627 (75) | 11 857 (48) | |
| ≥ 2 races | 1 238 (4) | 132 (3) | 1 106 (4) | |
| Supervisory status | .001 | |||
| Nonsupervisor (tier 1) | 22 316 (75) | 3 704 (76) | 18 612 (75) | |
| Supervisor/manager (tier 2) | 6 700 (23) | 1 003 (21) | 5 697 (23) | |
| Executive (tier 3) | 735 (2) | 138 (3) | 597 (2) | |
| Education level | < .001 | |||
| Bachelor’s degree or less | 20 582 (69) | 3 788 (78) | 16 794 (67) | |
| Master’s degree or higher | 8 732 (29) | 985 (20) | 7 747 (31) | |
| Tenure in public health practice, y | .002 | |||
| 0–5 | 10 746 (36) | 1 846 (38) | 8 900 (36) | |
| ≥ 5 | 17 376 (58) | 2 711 (56) | 14 665 (59) | |
| LHD organizational characteristics | ||||
| Lead executive is a clinician | 10 812 (36) | 1 058 (22) | 9 754 (39) | < .001 |
| Accredited | 17 619 (59) | 1 572 (32) | 16 047 (64) | < .001 |
| Organizational Characteristics | ||||
| FTEs per 1000 populationa | 0.73 (1) | 0.9 (1) | 0.6 (1) | < .001 |
| Community demographics | ||||
| Population, 1000s | 238 (585) | 33 (23) | 410 (751) | < .001 |
| Median household income, $1000s | 59 (16) | 51 (10) | 65 (17) | < .001 |
| % persons at or below federal poverty levelb | 14 (5) | 15 (5) | 12 (4) | < .001 |
| % unemployed | 3 (1) | 3 (1) | 3 (1) | < .001 |
| % > 25 y with < high school diploma | 8 (4) | 9 (4) | 7 (3) | < .001 |
| % Black | 11 (14) | 9 (15) | 12 (13) | < .001 |
| % American Indian/Alaska Native | 2 (5) | 3 (6) | 1 (3) | <.001 |
| % Hispanic/Latinx | 8 (10) | 6 (8) | 10 (12) | < .001 |
Note. FTE = full-time equivalent employee; LHD = local health department.
a
This was calculated using LHD FTEs reported in the 2019 National Association of City and County Health Officials Profile of Local Health Departments survey and the 2020 population for that area (FTEs/population × 1000).
b
According to US Census criteria.