Table 1.
Food establishment and SES characteristics across retail food environment (RFE) categories
| Block group characteristics | Healthier options (RFE ratio ≤1.0) | Unhealthier options (RFE ratio >1.0) |
|---|---|---|
| Block groups (n) | 769 | 2458 |
| Supermarket1 (%) | 21.2 ± 17.0 (0–75) | 12.8 ± 7.9 (0–40)*** |
| Restaurant (%) | 16.9 ± 17.9 (0–77) | 23.3 ± 12.7 (0–67)*** |
| Specialty food (%) | 14. 7 ± 16.7 (0–75) | 6.0 ± 6.0 (0–38)*** |
| Fast food (%) | 7.1 ± 9.8 (0–40) | 24.2 ± 11.4 (0–67)*** |
| Convenience store (%) | 8.8 ± 11.1 (0–40) | 18.7 ± 11.8 (0–86)*** |
| Pharmacy (%) | 2.5 ± 5.8 (0–40) | 6.8 ± 7.4 (0–75)*** |
| Male (%) | 49.0 ± 2.7 (31–70) | 48.8 ± 3.3 (29–90)* |
| Age 18 years or older (%) | 74.4 ± 6.1 (47–100) | 76.5 ± 6.6 (51–100)*** |
| Age 65 years or older (%) | 10.7 ± 8.1 (0–83) | 10.8 ± 8.1 (0–94) |
| Female head of household with children (%) | 50.6 ± 14.5 (0–100) | 50.0 ± 13.8 (0–100) |
| Rented housing (%) | 21.7 ± 23.3 (0–100) | 31.8 ± 27.4 (1–100)*** |
| No vehicle in household (%) | 2.4 ± 4.4 (0–45) | 3.7 ± 4.0 (0–49)*** |
| Employed in management (%) | 49.5 ± 15.0 (3–82) | 50.0 ± 16.4 (3–93) |
| Using public assistance (%) | 3.1 ± 3.5 (0–23) | 3.7 ± 4.0 (0–44)** |
| Family poverty (%) | 3.6 ± 4.2 (0–27) | 4.3 ± 5.2 (0–100)** |
| White race (%) | 66.3 ± 26.9 (1–100) | 62.3 ± 25.3 (0–99)*** |
| Black race (%) | 20.2 ± 25.2 (0–95) | 21.3 ± 23.6 (0–98) |
| Hispanic ethnicity (%) | 9.6 ± 12.7 (0–94) | 12.5 ± 12.5 (0–90)*** |
| Income (median per 10,000 dollars) | 5.4 ± 1.8 (2–12) | 5.3 ± 1.8 (0–15)* |
Mean ± standard deviation and (range) of block group percentages are presented unless otherwise noted
1Percentage of food establishments is calculated as number of food establishment (e.g., grocery stores)/total count of food establishments (supermarkets, restaurants, specialty food, fast food, convenience stores, and pharmacies)
*p <0.05, **p <0.01, ***p <0.001 for mean values compared to healthy block groups, using a two-tailed t-test