Core 116

Correlations Between Economic Factors and AIDS Rates See Map 5

Once I determined how important the aspect of race was in identifying the areas most affected by the AIDS virus, I began to wonder if economic factors, such as median household income, would be as significant. As I continued in my correlation calculations, I determined that both the percentage of the population on public assistance and the percentage of the population below the poverty level correlated highly with the AIDS rate. Similarly, the median household income data correlated significantly, though negatively, with the AIDS rate. Through the use of the correlation rates for these three economic factors, I can determine that the presence of poverty in a community is often (more than 99% of the time) a good indicator of the existence of a high AIDS rate and a possible HIV/AIDS problem.