Demographics of New Orleans and early COVID-19 Hot Spots in the U.S.

Income and poverty measures can indicate the extent to which a community may be able to successfully adhere to COVID-19 mitigation measures (such as “stay at home” and “quarantine family members who are sick”). Lower-income individuals are more likely to be living in crowded households where there are more people than rooms, making quarantining sick family members more difficult. Low-income individuals are more likely to be working in service positions on the front line of COVID-19 including as at-home health aides for seniors, grocery store clerks, and nannies, and may not be able to “stay at home.” Lower-income individuals are more likely to experience health conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes that may increase the likelihood of hospitalization and death among COVID-19 patients. There are a myriad of reasons why lower-income and poorer communities will be more vulnerable to the COVID-19 virus as explored in additional indicators on this webpage.