The Data
Numbers tell stories, but only if you know how to read them. We pull out data and research findings that we think deserve more attention and explain what they mean, where they come from, and what their limits are. If a study is shaping policy conversations or a dataset is being widely cited, we want to make sure the people using it understand what they are actually looking at.
Data without context flattens what it is supposed to describe. AI tools and other resources can surface data faster than ever, but speed is not the same as understanding. When the numbers represent people and places, knowing how they apply to your community and what they should actually drive requires a different kind of work. We do that work.
We use Tableau to build interactive datasets around issues that shape the health and stability of communities across the country. Each visualization is designed to let you explore the data yourself, filter by geography, and see how national trends translate to the places you know and work in. Right now, we are focused on food insecurity, with more on the way.
Upcoming topics include the decline of teen birth rates, reading and math proficiency in US schools, and housing insecurity.
Dataset: Food Insecurity
Food insecurity is not always visible, but it is common. Millions of Americans do not consistently have access to enough food to stay healthy, and the consequences go well beyond hunger. Chronic stress, worsening health outcomes, and reduced capacity to work or learn are all part of the picture. Children, seniors, and working families are most affected, and the numbers look different depending on where you live.
Using this interactive Tableau dataset, we put scale and geography to work on a problem that is easy to overlook. You can filter by state or county to see how food insecurity shows up in your community and compare it against national trends.
Dataset: Cost-Burdened Households
For millions of American households, housing now costs more than they can reasonably afford. By the most recent Census data, roughly 38.5 million households have crossed the first line and 18.4 million have crossed the second.
Behind those numbers are decisions that get harder every month: rent or a prescription, staying put or moving farther from work, building equity or watching it slip away. Housing affordability has become the defining household economic story of the past five years.
Housing costs have a way of quietly crowding out everything else. Use our interactive map to explore where cost burden is concentrated, filter by state or county, and see what share of households are spending more than they can afford just to stay housed.
