Census: South's vulnerable index

U.S. government agencies, including the Census Bureau, have ways to measure whether areas are deprived or vulnerable that are indicators of an area’s ability to withstand disasters and other challenges. The Census Bureau analyzed two commonly used measures, the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) and Multidimensional Deprivation Index (MDI) and both showed the same 526 counties - mostly in the South - were most distressed. By both measures, the rates were higher in counties with at least 1M people (high population) than in counties with fewer than 65,000 people (low population). The measures also showed higher rates in coastal than inland counties. (US Census 03/07/23) Coastal and Large Counties More Distressed Than Other U.S. Areas (census.gov)