15 Min Read
Nov 07, 2023
By
Samiyah Para-Cremer Moore, M.Sc., Angela S Wu, M.S., Kaci Cink, M.P.H., Stewart Cole, Tatiana Y. Lin, M.A., Wen-Chieh Lin, Ph.D.
Text from each Shawnee County Data Walk poster and the one-pager is below. Select a link to go directly to each item.
Child care cost burden by household and the number of child care slots available for each child.
There are 5,587 (55.9 percent) children under age 6 with working parents in Shawnee County who are without child care options.
Source: Childcare Aware of Kansas, 2021 Child Care Supply Demand Report.
Family households with one child under age 3, spent $10,189 on average each year on child care, which is 17.0 percent of the median household income ($59,848.00).
Source: Child Care Aware of Kansas, Shawnee County Point-In-Time Child Care Data, Generated on 9/8/2023 and U.S. Census Bureau, 2021 American Community Survey 5-year estimates, Table DP03.
There are up to 10 children under age 3 per one child care opening in Shawnee County.
Source: Child Care Aware of Kansas, 2023 Child Care Supply Demand Report.
Child care is a major household expense for families with young children. Access to affordable and high-quality child care is essential for parents to be able to provide sufficient income for their family while ensuring their children’s social and educational needs are met. Affordable child care in a community also strengthens the economy with a larger labor force and stronger tax base. Healthy People 2030 has identified child care as a high-priority public health issue and is developing a specific target.
Source: Kansas Health Matters.
United Way of Kaw Valley
Kansas Health Foundation
Topeka Community Foundation
Kansas Health Institute
Percent of children age 0-17 in Shawnee County by race and ethnicity.
One in 5 children in Shawnee County is Hispanic or Latino.
Two or More Races, Not Hispanic: 11.2 percent
Other Race, Not Hispanic: 0.4 percent
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, Not Hispanic: 0.1 percent
American Indian and Alaska Native, Not Hispanic: 0.8 percent
Asian, Not Hispanic: 1.2 percent
Black or African American, Not Hispanic: 8.0 percent
White, Not Hispanic: 56.7 percent
Hispanic or Latino, Any Race: 21.5 percent
Note: Number of children age 0-17 in Shawnee County = 41,774.
Source: Kansas Health Institute analysis of 2020 United States Decennial Census Tables P2 and P4.
The population of Shawnee County is changing. Growing diversity has important implications for the health of communities as they consider how they will function and provide essential services for their residents.
Source: Kansas Health Foundation, Kansas Health Institute.
United Way of Kaw Valley
Kansas Health Foundation
Topeka Community Foundation
Kansas Health Institute
Graduation rate of Shawnee County and Kansas students by school year.
The 2021-2022 graduation rate (84.7 percent) in USD 501 (Topeka Public Schools) increased since the 2019-2020 school year (81.7 percent), although it still trails behind Shawnee County and Kansas.
Health People 2030 Goal: 90.7 percent
USD 501: 81.7 percent
Shawnee County: 86.1 percent
Kansas: 88.3 percent
USD 501: 80.2 percent
Shawnee County: 86.1 percent
Kansas: 88.1 percent
USD 501: 84.7 percent
Shawnee County: 87.6 percent
Kansas: 89.3 percent
Note: This data is from a 4-year cohort study. The cohort study follows students from 9th – 12th grade to calculate graduation rate. Students who transferred in or out, immigrated or died have been accounted for in each 4-year cohort.
Source: Kansas State Department of Education, 2019-2022 Graduation Rate, Four Year Adjusted Cohort Formula.
There’s a strong connection between education and health — for example, higher levels of education are linked to increased economic stability and a lower risk of death later in life. The Healthy People 2030 national health target is to increase the proportion of high school students who graduate in 4 years to 90.7 percent.
Source: Healthy People 2030.
United Way of Kaw Valley
Kansas Health Foundation
Topeka Community Foundation
Kansas Health Institute
Average percent of 3rd grade students testing at levels 1-4 for reading across all school districts.
Nearly half of USD 501 (Topeka Public Schools) 3rd graders test below a basic level in English language arts.
USD 501 (Topeka Public Schools): 47.5 percent
Shawnee County: 37.3 percent
Kansas: 33.4 percent
USD 501 (Topeka Public Schools): 30.5 percent
Shawnee County: 30.8 percent
Kansas: 29.9 percent
USD 501 (Topeka Public Schools): 15.7 percent
Shawnee County: 22.0 percent
Kansas: 24.3 percent
USD 501 (Topeka Public Schools): 6.3 percent
Shawnee County: 10.0 percent
Kansas: 12.4 percent
Note: Level 1 indicates limited ability to understand and use the English language arts skills and knowledge needed for postsecondary readiness, Level 2 indicates basic ability, Level 3 indicates effective ability and Level 4 indicates excellent ability. 2022 data is from spring tests taken during the 2021-2022 school year. Shawnee County was calculated using data from USD 345, 372, 437, 450 and 501.
Source: Kansas State Department of Education, Performance Level Reports, 2022.
Students who are competent readers are more likely to perform well in other subjects, such as math and science. Reading achievement also predicts one’s likelihood of graduating from high school and attending college.
Source: County Health Rankings.
United Way of Kaw Valley
Kansas Health Foundation
Topeka Community Foundation
Kansas Health Institute
The percent of households by type without affordable housing. Affordable housing is defined as spending no more than 30 percent of gross income on housing costs including utilities.
Four in 10 renter-occupied households in Shawnee County do not have affordable housing.
Healthy People 2030 Goal: Below 25.5 percent of households
Owner-Occupied (No Mortgage): 10.8 percent of households
Owner-Occupied (With Mortgage): 22.5 percent of households
Renter-Occupied: 43.7 percent of households
All Housing Arrangements: 26.7 percent of households
Note: Number of housing unit = 19,282 for owner-occupied (no mortgage), 29,563 for owner-occupied (with mortgage) and 25,276 for renter-occupied. Without affordable housing is calculated as the percent of households spending more than 30 percent of their gross income on housing costs (including utilities) by situation.
Source: Kansas Health Institute analysis of U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2021 1-year estimate, Table DP04.
When families have to spend a large part of their income on housing, they may not have enough money to pay for things like healthy food or health care. This is linked to increased stress, mental health problems, and an increased risk of disease. The Healthy People 2030 goal is to reduce the proportion of families without affordable housing to 25.5 percent.
United Way of Kaw Valley
Kansas Health Foundation
Topeka Community Foundation
Kansas Health Institute
The rate of infant deaths (prior to 1 year of age) per 1,000 live births by race and ethnicity.
Hispanic and Black infant mortality rates rose to 2-3 times more than the rate for White infants in Shawnee County.
Healthy People 2030 Goal: 5.0 deaths per 1,000 live births
Black/African American: 13.7 deaths per 1,000 live births
Hispanic: 8.8 deaths per 1,000 live births
White: 6.3 deaths per 1,000 live births
Black/African American: 14.7 deaths per 1,000 live births
Hispanic: 11.1 deaths per 1,000 live births
White: 5.7 deaths per 1,000 live births
Black/African American: 14.8 deaths per 1,000 live births
Hispanic: 12.0 deaths per 1,000 live births
White: 5.4 deaths per 1,000 live births
Black/African American: 14.8 deaths per 1,000 live births
Hispanic: 14.2 deaths per 1,000 live births
White: 5.7 deaths per 1,000 live births
Black/African American: 17.4 deaths per 1,000 live births
Hispanic: 11.9 deaths per 1,000 live births
White: 4.6 deaths per 1,000 live births
Note: Infant Mortality rate overall for Shawnee County was 8.2 deaths per 1,000 live births and for Kansas was 5.9 deaths per 1,000 live births (2017-2021 five-year estimate).
Source: Kansas Department of Health and Environment five-year estimates, 2013-2021, accessed through Kansas Health Matters.
Infant death is a relatively rare event in most counties. Nationally, thousands of infants die per year from causes such as low birth weight, congenital malformations, and sudden infant death syndrome. Significant health disparities exist, particularly for Black infants in Kansas, who had three times the infant mortality rate (13.6 deaths per 1,000 live births) than White infants (4.5 deaths per 1,000 live births) in 2021. Keeping infants healthy begins with access to high-quality care during pregnancy. The Healthy People 2030 goal is to decrease the rate of infant deaths to 5.0 per 1,000 live births.
Source: Kansas Health Matters, County Health Rankings, Healthy People 2030, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
United Way of Kaw Valley
Kansas Health Foundation
Topeka Community Foundation
Kansas Health Institute
The Area Deprivation Index calculates comparative levels of deprivation (compared to nation or state) based on factors of income, education, employment and housing quality.
Topeka neighborhoods east of Southwest Washburn Avenue are ranked among the most disadvantaged of all neighborhoods in the United States.
A map of Topeka, Kansas by neighborhood, defined as census block groups. Each block group is given a percentage rank between 1 for least disadvantaged block group and 100 for most disadvantaged block group nationally. Most of Central Topeka and Topeka north of the Kansas river are in the 91-100 percentile rank. Topeka neighborhoods east of Southwest Washburn Avenue are ranked among the most disadvantaged of all neighborhoods in the United States. Western Topeka neighborhoods range between 50 percentile rank and 89 percentile rank.
Note: “Neighborhood” is defined as census block group. Higher percentiles represent greater levels of disadvantage in a census block group. A percentile rank of 1 signifies the least disadvantaged census block groups nationally. A percentile rank of 100 signifies the most disadvantaged census block group nationally. 2021 ADI constructed using American Community Survey 2017-2021 5-year estimates.. ADI is reported as a percentile rank (even groups of 100) when compared nationally or a decile rank (even groups of 10) when compared to the state.
Source: University of Wisconsin Madison Applied Population Lab Neighborhood Atlas, 2021.
The neighborhood you live in has impacts on your health outcomes, including rates of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and death. Understanding where disadvantage is concentrated in communities can help decision-makers develop solutions with the community members with the greatest need.
Source: University of Wisconsin’s Neighborhood Atlas.
United Way of Kaw Valley
Kansas Health Foundation
Topeka Community Foundation
Kansas Health Institute
Race and ethnicity for population living below 100 percent of Federal Poverty Level.
Greater proportions of Black and Hispanic populations in Shawnee County experience poverty compared to their White counterparts
Shawnee County Poverty Rate: 12.3 percent
Some Other Race Alone, Any Ethnicity: 27.5 percent (1,651 of 5,994)
Black or African American Alone, Any Ethnicity: 25.7 percent (3,658 of 14,210)
Hispanic or Latino, Any Race: 19.3 percent (4,384 of 22,704)
Two or More Races, Any Ethnicity: 15.7 percent (1,675 of 10,690)
American Indian and Alaska Native Alone, Any Ethnicity: 15.5 percent (170 of 1,094)
Asian Alone, Any Ethnicity: 11.6 percent (295 of 2,546)
White Alone, Any Ethnicity: 10.0 percent (13,957 of 139,989)
Note: Total population in Shawnee County for which poverty is determined is 174,543. Population in Shawnee County earning less than 100 percent of the Federal Poverty Level ($26,500 for a family of four in 2021) = 21,424 people. The category of Hispanic or Latino, Any Race, is not mutually exclusive with other categories.
Source: Kansas Health Institute analysis of U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (2017- 2021) 5-year estimates Table S1701.
There is persistent over-representation of Black and Hispanic Americans among the population in poverty in the United States. Racial disparities in poverty are byproducts of systemic racism and cumulative disadvantage over the life course, including unequal economic opportunity and barriers to multigenerational social mobility.
Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury, Health Affairs, BROOKINGS.
United Way of Kaw Valley
Kansas Health Foundation
Topeka Community Foundation
Kansas Health Institute
What surprises you?
What else do you want to learn?
There are 5,587 (55.9 percent) children under age 6 with working parents in Shawnee County who are without child care options.
Family households with one child under age 3, spent $10,189 on average each year on child care, which is 17.0 percent of the median household income ($59,849.00).
There are up to 10 children under age 3 per one child care opening in Shawnee County.
The 2021-2022 graduation rate (84.7 percent) in USD 501 (Topeka Public Schools) increased since the 2019-2020 school year (81.7 percent), although it still trails behind Shawnee County and Kansas.
Nearly half of USD 501 (Topeka Public Schools) 3rd graders test below a basic level in English language arts.
Greater proportions of Black and Hispanic populations in Shawnee County experience poverty compared to their
White counterparts.
Four in 10 renter-occupied households in Shawnee County do not have affordable housing.
Topeka neighborhoods east of Southwest Washburn Avenue are ranked among the most disadvantaged of all neighborhoods in the United States.
Hispanic and Black infant mortality rates rose to 2-3 times more than the rate for White infants in Shawnee County.
One in 5 children in Shawnee County is Hispanic or Latino.
United Way of Kaw Valley
Kansas Health Foundation
Topeka Community Foundation
Kansas Health Institute
The Kansas Health Institute supports effective policymaking through nonpartisan research, education and engagement. KHI believes evidence-based information, objective analysis and civil dialogue enable policy leaders to be champions for a healthier Kansas. Established in 1995 with a multiyear grant from the Kansas Health Foundation, KHI is a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational organization based in Topeka.
