CENTER FOR COLORADO POLICY STUDIES
AUGUST 2001
Table 3. Sample Health and Public Safety Quality of Life Indicators
Indicator
Colo Spgs Austin
(El Paso Cty) (Travis Cty)
% with no health insurance
Emergency room use for non-emergencies
% reporting good health status/health care
% with prenatal care in first trimester
% of babies born at low birthweight
Infant mortality rate per 1000
% of youth (12-17) reporting alcohol use
Packs of cigarettes sold per person
Lung cancer deaths per 100,000
Suicides per 100,000
% feeling safe walking at night
Indexed crime rate per 100,000
Family violence/child abuse reports per 1000
13.4
Jacksonville
(Duval Cty)
20
Seattle
(King Cty)
8
89.6
90.3
84
9
7
38.8
18
70
5210
6.8
51
62
5.7
10.2
51
90
61.2
10
6373
10
62
6900
13.5
For data sources and more discussion of local indicator projects and their uses see
Greenwood, Daphne. 2001.“Using Local Indicators to Measure Quality of Life: A Preliminary
Look at the Pikes Peak Region,” Working Paper #106, Center for Colorado Policy Studies,
University of Colorado- Colorado Springs. http://web.uccs.edu/ccps