Health is fundamental to the quality of our lives. Across Texas, factors that impact health including social and environmental determinants of health and access to health care vary considerably by race and ethnicity. Black and Hispanic children are much more likely to be growing up in neighborhoods of concentrated poverty and their families are more likely to lack health insurance. Not surprisingly, there are also wide disparities in health status, disease prevalence, and mortality among Texans of different races and ethnicities.

Recognizing that much of the work to improve health is done at a local or regional level, this current study supplements the 2021 report by distributing the statewide estimates across substate geographies, providing estimates of the economic burden of health disparities for all 254 counties in Texas. The report is accompanied by an online graphical tool that provides access to detailed estimates at the county and regional level. The tool is available at: Economic Impacts of Health Disparities In Texas.