A Data Story — 2021 CDC Health Burden Data

The Unequal
Burden of Diabetes

38 million Americans live with diabetes. But where you're born, how much you earn, and what you look like determines how hard it hits.

38M
Americans with diabetes
10.1%
National prevalence rate
2.1×
Risk gap: low vs high income
2035
When we project 12.2% without action
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The Problem

Who bears the
heaviest burden?

Our analysis of 29,000+ CDC data points reveals a consistent pattern across race, income, education, and geography — the most vulnerable Americans face the highest risk, with the fewest resources to respond.

Race & Ethnicity

Non-Hispanic Black Americans face a 44% higher rate than the national average of 10.1%.

Income Level

Low-income Americans are more than twice as likely to develop diabetes as high earners.

2.1×
Income is the single strongest predictor of diabetes risk. Americans earning under $35K have a 16.4% rate vs 7.7% for those earning $75K+. This isn't bad luck — it's the predictable result of food deserts, healthcare gaps, and chronic stress concentrated in low-income communities.

Rural vs. Urban

Rural Americans face a 28% higher diabetes rate — and have less access to endocrinologists and preventive care.

Education Level

Without a high school diploma, you are nearly twice as likely to have diabetes as a college graduate.

Geographic Scale

The "Diabetes Belt"
is real — and growing.

Prevalence varies nearly 2× across states. The Southeast carries a disproportionate burden — not by coincidence, but because socioeconomic disadvantages compound geographically.

7%
14%hover any state
13.7%
Mississippi — highest in the nation
7.6%
Montana & Wyoming — lowest
Highest burden states
Mississippi
13.7%
Alabama
13.3%
W. Virginia
13.0%
Louisiana
12.5%
Kentucky
12.3%
Modeling & Forecasting

With $150M — the cost of
one Coachella weekend —
here's what changes.

The US spends $150M/year on diabetes prevention. Our regression model (R²=0.97) shows exactly where that money should go — and what it prevents by 2035.

🎪

The US spends ~$150M/year fighting diabetes. Coachella makes that in a single weekend. Allocate that budget below.

Budget used $0M / $150M
🥦
Food access & nutrition
$0M
🏥
Healthcare coverage
$0M
🏃
Physical activity programs
$0M
🔬
Early screening
$0M
Projected national prevalence 2021–2035
Model: OLS regression on CDC BRFSS (2000–2021), R²=0.97. Each $10M reduces annual growth rate proportionally to evidence-based cost-effectiveness ratios.
States reached by your allocation
0 states
Allocate budget to see impact
👈 Drag the sliders to allocate budget and see which states benefit most
Act III — The Solution

Introducing the
Diabetes Equity
Navigator.

A personalized risk awareness tool that translates population-level data into individual insight — helping people understand their risk profile and connect with resources in their area.

Personalized risk profiling — Enter your state, income bracket, and demographic group to see how your risk compares to the national average.
Complication awareness — Understand which secondary conditions are most prevalent for people like you, with actionable prevention tips.
Resource matching — Surface local community health centers, food assistance, and diabetes programs based on location and income level.
Sustainable by design — Powered by CDC's annual dataset. The tool re-scores automatically with every new release. No manual updates needed.

Try the Navigator

The data exists.
The disparity is clear.
Now we fund it right.

Directing diabetes prevention resources to the highest-burden, most underserved states — guided by equity, not just statistics — can prevent millions of cases by 2035.

📊 29,000+ data points · 51 states 🔬 17 health indicators 👥 6 demographic dimensions 📅 CDC data · Updated annually

Data: CDC Diabetes State Burden Toolkit — Health Burden Dataset (2021)
Analysis & Dashboard: Fatima Ezzahra Talibi · Augustana College Data Hackathon