The Minority Health Index (MHI) is a database and mapping tool developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Minority Health (OMH) and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (CDC/ATSDR). The Minority Health Index enhances existing resources to support the identification of racial and ethnic minority communities where public health emergencies may have a disproportionate impact and adverse outcomes.
Several non-medical factors may influence our health, including socioeconomic status, housing conditions, health care resources, and access to quality health care. Locality-based differences in health outcomes for each racial and ethnic group highlight the need to examine data at the local level to see the underlying differences that are often obscured by aggregated data (data combined from several measurements for two or more racial/ethnic groups). The Minority Health Index can be used to view county-level data to bolster planning, response, and recovery efforts related to public health emergencies, disease outbreaks, and natural disasters.
Access the MHI
Access the Minority Health Index hosted on the CDC's OneMap platform. Updated June 2025.
Minority Health Index Resources
MHI FAQs
Find answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the Minority Health Index.
Updated September 2025.
MHI Data Dictionary
Need help defining the abbreviations? Download the Minority Health Index Data Dictionary for a list of the variable names and abbreviations, descriptions, themes, sources, dates, and ACS reference number.
Updated June 2025.
MHI Dataset
Download the full Minority Health Index dataset.
Updated June 2025.
Minority Health Index Fast Facts
2025
The MHI was last updated in June 2025.
2021
The MHI was launched in 2021 through a partnership between HHS OMH and CDC.
15
The MHI combines over 15 medical and non-medical factors.
6
The MHI is derived from publicly available data from six sources:
6
The MHI is organized into six themes:
- Theme 1: Socioeconomic Status
- Theme 2: Household Characteristics
- Theme 3: Racial and Ethnic Minority Status
- Theme 4: Housing Type and Transportation
- Theme 5: Health Care Infrastructure and Access
- Theme 6: Health Risks
5
The MHI includes county-level statistics for the five racial and ethnic groups currently defined by the 1997 OMB Directive 15 and top five languages spoken by populations with limited English proficiency.
Date Last Reviewed: December 2025