National Neighborhood Equity Index (NNEI)
NNEI
About the National Neighborhood Equity Index
Equity is just and fair inclusion. An equitable society is one in which all residents can participate and prosper. The goal of equity must be to create conditions that allow all people to reach their full potential.
The neighborhoods in which children live, grow, learn, and play matter. Even though parents and guardians have the greatest influence on children’s development, neighborhoods also play an important role. This is why understanding children’s local community conditions, particularly the challenges to equity, are important factors to consider when working to ensure children have the best start. Every neighborhood is geographically, demographically, and economically unique, some neighborhoods face far more challenges than others, especially those with higher populations of people of color and immigrants.
The National Neighborhood Equity Index (NNEI) is a visual representation of key challenges to equity that residents face in accessing opportunities to lead healthy, productive lives and is a tool to better understand the unnecessary and unfair differences across neighborhoods.
When used in combination with the EDI, the NNEI helps explain some of the factors contributing to children’s outcomes and can also identify neighborhoods where children are doing relatively well despite these challenges.
Indicators
The National Neighborhood Equity Index (NNEI) was first developed by Dr. Charles Bruner and the Child and Family Policy Center as a composite measure of the community conditions in which children live. The index is comprised of 11 variables collected by the US Census American Community Survey that, when taken together, are predictive of child development outcomes. That is, in general, a high number of equity challenges present in a neighborhood on the NNEI is related to a high percentage of vulnerability on the EDI.
| Category | American Community Survey Indicator | Considered a Barrier if... |
|---|---|---|
| Educational | Population without a High School Diploma (Ages 25 and Older) | +1 standard deviation above the national mean |
| Population with a College Degree (Ages 25 and Older) | -1 standard deviation above the national mean | |
| Economic | Population with Wage Income | -1 standard deviation above the national mean |
| Families with Children in Poverty | +1 standard deviation above the national mean | |
| Households with Public Assistance Income | +1 standard deviation above the national mean | |
| Social | Single Parent Family Households | +1 standard deviation above the national mean |
| Limited English-Speaking Households | +1 standard deviation above the national mean | |
| Disconnected Youth (Ages 16-19; Unemployed and not in School) | +1 standard deviation above the national mean | |
| Children Enrolled in Preschool/Nursery School | +1 standard deviation above the national mean | |
| Wealth | Owner-occupied Housing | -1 standard deviation above the national mean |
| Households with Interest, Rent, or Dividend Income | -1 standard deviation above the national mean |
We consider there to be a barrier to equitable development if a census tract's data point is +/- 1 standard deviation from the national mean (depending on the indicator).
Research on the EDI and NNEI
Halfon N, Aguilar E, Stanley L, Hotez E, Block E, Janus M. Measuring Equity From The Start: Disparities In The Health Development Of US Kindergartners. Health Affairs. 2020;39(10):1702-1709. doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2020.00920
- Key finding: Children in neighborhoods with more barriers to equity are more likely to face developmental challenges compared to those in neighborhoods without these barriers.