Data source description - Adults: NHIS monitors the health of the U.S. population by collecting and analyzing data on a broad range of health topics. Interviews are conducted continuously throughout the year, and are initiated in-person, with telephone follow-up. NHIS focuses on the health of children and adults in the United States. One adult household member is randomly selected to be the subject of a detailed health interview. If children are present, one child is also randomly selected. Adults answer on their own behalf, while a knowledgeable adult answers on behalf of the selected child. NHIS topics featured include adult life satisfaction, anxiety, depression, mental health conditions, mental health care, and social and emotional support.

Data source description - Teenagers: NHIS-Teen was a web-based health survey of teenagers between the ages of 12 to 17. Answers from teenagers helped paint a picture of the health of teenagers living in the United States. NHIS-Teen covered questions on a variety of health topics, including doctor visits, mental health, and social and emotional support. Data were collected between July 2021 and December 2023. 

For additional information, please see: https://www.cdc.gov/mental-health/about-data/mental-health-data-sources.html" target ="_blank">Mental Health Data Sources.

Data source description: BRFSS measures health-related risk behaviors, chronic health conditions, and use of preventive services among U.S. adults through telephone interviews. BRFSS collects data in all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia and three U.S. territories of Guam, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands. Responses were used to produce estimates of experiences, behaviors, and conditions related to mental health and well-being for participating jurisdictions. Nationwide estimates are not available.

For additional information, please see: https://www.cdc.gov/mental-health/about-data/mental-health-data-sources.html" target ="_blank">Mental Health Data Sources.

The U.S. Census Bureau, in collaboration with five federal agencies, launched the Household Pulse Survey to produce data on the social and economic impacts of Covid-19 on American households. The Household Pulse Survey was designed to gauge the impact of the pandemic on employment status, consumer spending, food security, housing, education disruptions, and dimensions of physical and mental wellness. The survey was designed to meet the goal of accurate and timely weekly estimates. It was conducted by an internet questionnaire, with invitations to participate sent by email and text message. The sample frame is the Census Bureau Master Address File Data. Housing units linked to one or more email addresses or cell phone numbers were randomly selected to participate, and one respondent from each housing unit was selected to respond for him or herself. Estimates are weighted to adjust for nonresponse and to match Census Bureau estimates of the population by age, gender, race and ethnicity, and educational attainment. All estimates shown meet the NCHS Data Presentation Standards for Proportions.

Data Source Description: Syndromic surveillance provides public health officials with a timely system for detecting, understanding, and monitoring health threats. By tracking symptoms and conditions reported by patients in emergency departments (EDs), public health officials can monitor trends in critical areas. When people seek treatment in the ED, the facility sends de-identified data—including chief complaint, diagnosis codes, patient characteristics, and location—to state and local health departments to share with CDC.Indicator definitions: Definitions include both (1) visits with acute mental health crises or evaluations where the sole or primary reason for the visit is related to mental health, and (2) visits where a mental health condition may not be the sole reason for the visit but was noted to be present in the discharge diagnosis or chief complaint.ED data are displayed as rates.* The rate explains the number of ED visits related to a specific mental health condition out of every 100,000 ED visits. The monthly rate of ED visits related to a condition is calculated as the number of ED visits related to a condition as a fraction of the total number of ED visits in a given month multiplied by 100,000. ED visits with and without mental health conditions where patients were under 12 years old and where age, sex, and race and ethnicity were unknown were included in the denominators when calculating rates for the overall population.* Rates are also calculated within demographic groups such as age, sex, and race and ethnicity. This is done by comparing the number of ED visits related to a condition within a demographic group as a fraction of the total number of ED visits for that demographic group in a given month multiplied by 100,000.Data quality and methodology: More than 6,900 health care facilities covering 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam contribute data to NSSP daily. More than 80% of U.S. emergency departments send data to NSSP. Data are collected continuously, and for the purposes of this data channel, updated monthly. Monthly counts that are less than 10 either for the complete population or for specific demographic groups are not shown to protect confidentiality and privacy. Note, rate information may change as data are dynamically adjusted as electronic health record information is updated. However, these changes will not typically affect overall trends.For additional information, please see: Mental Health Data Sources.Updated monthly. 

The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is a state-based system of health surveys that collects information on health risk behaviors, preventive health practices, and health care access primarily related to chronic disease and injury. For many states, the BRFSS is the only available source of timely, accurate data on health-related behaviors.

Data source description: YRBSS measures health-related behaviors and experiences that can lead to death and disability among youth and adults. Results help monitor health trends, identify emerging issues, and plan and evaluate programs that can help improve adolescent health. Responses from adolescents were used to produce estimates of experiences, behaviors, and conditions related to mental health and well-being for the nation and participating states.

For additional information, please see: https://www.cdc.gov/mental-health/about-data/mental-health-data-sources.html" target ="_blank">Mental Health Data Sources.

About The Study The How Right Now campaign (HRN), which is made possible with support from the CDC Foundation and conducted in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), aims to help people cope, adapt, and be resilient throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. HRN prioritizes communities that have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19. To inform the development of this campaign and respond to the evolving needs of its audiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, HRN explored Americans’ mental health, emotional well-being and coping needs using an interrupted time series design. As part of the HRN campaign evaluation, survey data were collected in English and Spanish at three time points—May 2020, May 2021, and May 2022. Data is available for the last two waves of this survey here and at https://www.norc.org/Research/Projects/Pages/how-right-now-campaign.aspx. About the Survey These public use files contain data from two of the national probability panel surveys – May 2021 (fielded from May 26-June 1, 2021) and May 2022 (fielded from May 20-May 31, 2022). Both surveys used NORC’s AmeriSpeak® panel (https://amerispeak.norc.org/), a nationally representative probability panel of over 30,000 U.S. households.1 The total sample size for the May 2021 survey was 1,022 and the total sample size for May 2022 was 1,120. Data collection procedures and protocols were reviewed and approved by NORC's Institutional Review Board and were determined exempt under 45 CFR 46 102(1) by CDC.More information is available in the document titled "How Right Now Campaign Mental Health and Coping Data – User Guide."

This web map is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) PLACES. It provides model-based estimates of frequent mental distress (mental health not good for >=14 days) prevalence among adults aged 18 years and older at county, place, census tract, and ZCTA levels in the United States. PLACES is an expansion of the original 500 Cities Project and a collaboration between the CDC, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the CDC Foundation. Data sources used to generate these estimates include the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), Census 2020 population counts or Census annual county-level population estimates, and the American Community Survey (ACS) estimates. For detailed methodology see www.cdc.gov/places. For questions or feedback send an email to places@cdc.gov.Measure name used for frequent mental distress is MHLTH.

CDC National Center for Health Statistics data briefs and WONDER system outputs related to U.S. mental health trends, including prevalence, demographics, and service utilization insights.

This dataset contains model-based Census tract level estimates for the PLACES project by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Division of Population Health, Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch. It represents a first-of-its kind effort to release information uniformly on this large scale. Data sources used to generate these model-based estimates include Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) 2019 or 2018 data, Census Bureau 2010 population estimates, and American Community Survey (ACS) 2015–2019 or 2014–2018 estimates. The 2021 release uses 2019 BRFSS data for 22 measures and 2018 BRFSS data for 7 measures (all teeth lost, dental visits, mammograms, cervical cancer screening, colorectal cancer screening, core preventive services among older adults, and sleeping less than 7 hours a night). Seven measures are based on the 2018 BRFSS data because the relevant questions are only asked every other year in the BRFSS. This data only covers the health of adults (people 18 and over) in East Baton Rouge Parish. All estimates lie within a 95% confidence interval.

The National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) Health Center Component, conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), collects annual data on visits to health centers to describe patterns of utilization and provision of ambulatory care delivery in the United States. Data are collected from federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and FQHC look-alikes from all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia and are used to develop nationally representative estimates. The data include preliminary, biannual counts and rates of health center visits from January 2022-June 2024 by medical diagnosis chapters, maternal and reproductive health-related diagnoses, mental health disorders, and respiratory conditions, stratified by selected patient characteristics. Estimates are split into biannual time periods (January to June, and July to December) and are considered preliminary, meaning they may differ from final estimates.

This dataset contains model-based county estimates. PLACES covers the entire United States—50 states and the District of Columbia—at county, place, census tract, and ZIP Code Tabulation Area levels. It provides information uniformly on this large scale for local areas at four geographic levels. Estimates were provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Division of Population Health, Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch. PLACES was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in conjunction with the CDC Foundation. This dataset includes estimates for 40 measures: 12 for health outcomes, 7 for preventive services use, 4 for chronic disease-related health risk behaviors, 7 for disabilities, 3 for health status, and 7 for health-related social needs. These estimates can be used to identify emerging health problems and to help develop and carry out effective, targeted public health prevention activities. Because the small area model cannot detect effects due to local interventions, users are cautioned against using these estimates for program or policy evaluations. Data sources used to generate these model-based estimates are Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) 2022 or 2021 data, Census Bureau 2022 county population estimate data, and American Community Survey 2018–2022 estimates. The 2024 release uses 2022 BRFSS data for 36 measures and 2021 BRFSS data for 4 measures (high blood pressure, high cholesterol, cholesterol screening, and taking medicine for high blood pressure control among those with high blood pressure) that the survey collects data on every other year. More information about the methodology can be found at www.cdc.gov/places.

The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is the nation’s premier system of health-related telephone surveys that collect state data about U.S. residents regarding their health-related risk behaviors, chronic health conditions, and use of preventive services. Established in 1984 with 15 states, BRFSS now collects data in all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia and three U.S. territories. BRFSS completes more than 400,000 adult interviews each year, making it the largest continuously conducted health survey system in the world.

By collecting behavioral health risk data at the state and local level, BRFSS has become a powerful tool for targeting and building health promotion activities. As a result, BRFSS users have increasingly demanded more data and asked for more questions on the survey. Currently, there is a wide sponsorship of the BRFSS survey, including most divisions in the CDC National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion; other CDC centers; and federal agencies, such as the Health Resources and Services Administration, Administration on Aging, Department of Veterans Affairs, and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Original data can be downloaded from: https://www.cdc.gov/brfss/annual_data/annual_2022.html.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). PRAMS, the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, is a surveillance system collecting state-specific, population-based data on maternal attitudes and experiences before, during, and shortly after pregnancy. It is a collaborative project of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state health departments. PRAMS provides data for state health officials to use to improve the health of mothers and infants. PRAMS topics include abuse, alcohol use, contraception, breastfeeding, mental health, morbidity, obesity, preconception health, pregnancy history, prenatal-care, sleep behavior, smoke exposure, stress, tobacco use, WIC, Medicaid, infant health, and unintended pregnancy. Data will be updated annually as it becomes available.

Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) 2024

Overview

The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is the nation's premier system of health-related telephone surveys that collect uniform, state-specific data about U.S. residents regarding their health-related risk behaviors, chronic health conditions, and use of preventive services.

The objective of the BRFSS is to gather consistent, state-level data on preventive health practices and risk behaviors associated with chronic diseases, injuries, and preventable infectious diseases among adults (aged 18 and older).

Established in 1984 with 15 states, the BRFSS now collects data in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and three U.S. territories. The system completes more than 400,000 adult interviews each year, making it the largest continuously conducted health survey system in the world.

2024 Data Notes

The 2024 BRFSS dataset continues to use the raking weighting methodology (introduced in 2011) and includes both landline and cellphone-only respondents, ensuring more accurate representation of the U.S. adult population.

The aggregate dataset combines landline and cell phone data collected in 2024 from 49 states, The District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and The U.S. Virgin Islands.

This original dataset contains responses from 457,670 individuals and has 301 features. These features are either questions directly asked of participants, or calculated variables based on individual participant responses.

⚠️ Note: Tennessee was unable to collect enough responses to meet inclusion requirements for 2024 and is not included in this public dataset.

Certain survey questions and responses have been modified or omitted to comply with federal data policies in effect during the 2024 collection period. As a result, some variables may contain missing values or appear inconsistent due to questions that were removed or restructured.

Data Collection

Data are collected from a random sample of adults (one per household) via telephone interviews.

Factors assessed include: - Tobacco use - Health care access and coverage - Alcohol consumption - Physical activity and diet - HIV/AIDS knowledge and prevention - Chronic health conditions
- Preventive health services and screenings

Content

The annual dataset contains 301 variables, covering both core questions and optional modules. Please refer to the official BRFSS 2024 Codebook for detailed variable definitions and coding.

This dataset contains 3 files: 1. brfss_survey_data_2024.csv # Dataset in .csv format (converted from SAS) 2. codebook_2024.HTML # CDC codebook for variable definitions
3. main_data_brfss_2024.XPT # Main dataset

⚙️ Note: The CSV file were converted from the original SAS format using pandas. Minor conversion artifacts may exist.

Complete description about each column of the CSV file can be found in the codebook.

Source & Acknowledgements

Data provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Original source and additional years of BRFSS data: CDC BRFSS Annual Data

Citation:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey Data. Atlanta, Georgia: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024.

License: Public Domain (U.S. Government Work)

Suggested Citation (for Kaggle users)

If you use this dataset in your analysis or publication, please cite as:

Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) 2024. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Public Domain.

Prepared for Kaggle public dataset publication. All data are in the public domain as U.S. Government works.

Users can download the survey's report and entire data set to gain information on a variety of health indicators in the United States and Canada. Background The Joint Canada/ United States Health Survey was a one time study conducted with Statistics Canada and the National Center for Health Statistics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Both countries conducted the same survey to gather information regarding: health status, limitations of activities, asthma and other medical conditions, mental health, smoking, use of prescription medicines, physical activities, patient satisfaction, health insurance, and health care utilization. User Functionality Users can download the full report of the survey or the entire data set. Data Notes The Joint Canada/ United States Health Survey was conducted in 2002 and 2003. It was a one time telephone survey, with 3,200 Canadian participants and 5,200 American participants.

Curated U.S. statistics on substance use and overdose, grouped by drug category for quick comparison (NSDUH 2024; CDC WONDER 2023; CDC MMWR 2025; TFAH 2025).

PLACES (Population Level Analysis and Community Estimates) is an expansion of the original 500 Cities project and is a collaboration between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the CDC Foundation. The original 500 Cities Project provided city- and census tract-level estimates for the 500 largest US cities. PLACES extends these estimates to all counties, places (incorporated and census designated places), census tracts, and ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTA) across the United States. This service includes 29 measures for chronic disease related health outcomes (13), prevention measures (9), health risk behaviors (4), and health status (3). Data were provided by CDC Division of Population Health, Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch. Data sources used to generate these measures include BRFSS data (2019 or 2018), Census Bureau 2010 census population data or annual population estimates for county vintage 2019 or 2018, and American Community Survey (ACS) 2015-2019 or 2014-2018 estimates. The health outcomes include arthritis, current asthma, high blood pressure, cancer (excluding skin cancer), high cholesterol, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), coronary heart disease, diagnosed diabetes, depression, obesity, all teeth lost, and stroke. The prevention measures include lack of health insurance, visits to doctor for routine checkup, visits to dentist, taking medicine for high blood pressure control, cholesterol screening, mammography use for women, cervical cancer screening for women, colon cancer screening, and core preventive services use for older adults (men and women). The health risk behaviors include binge drinking, current smoking, physical inactivity, and sleeping less than 7 hours. The health status measures include mental health not good for ≥14 days, physical health not good for ≥14 days, and fair or poor health.

For more information, please visit https:/ /www.cdc.gov/places or contact places@cdc.gov.

This map features new data from the US CDC, mapping Behavioral Risk Factors Data and Trends at the Census Tract level.For more info, see the CDC webpage on Chronic Disease and Health Promotion Data & Indicators: https://chronicdata.cdc.gov/health-area/behavioral-risk-factors.NMCDC has built the feature service that runs this map and made it available for sharing on your own AGOL map. It contains 27 adult behavioral risk factors for 206 census tracts in NM's four major cities (Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Santa Fe and Las Cruces). Responses can be explored for two time periods (2014 and 2017), and trends over time are also dislayed.Feature service information at - https://nmcdc.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=2a261f56deb5452982233de0f87a6dd2#overview"The purpose of the 500 Cities Project is to provide city- and census tract-level small area estimates for chronic disease risk factors, health outcomes, and clinical preventive service use for the largest 500 cities in the United States. These small area estimates will allow cities and local health departments to better understand the burden and geographic distribution of health-related variables in their jurisdictions, and assist them in planning public health interventions. Learn more about the 500 Cities Project(https://www.cdc.gov/500cities/about.htm)."

Users can view and download data regarding youth health behaviors and risk factors from a variety of countries (including the United States). Background The Global School-based Student Health Survey is developed by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), UNICEF, UNAIDS and UNESCO. The survey is conducted in schools around the world and looks at the health behaviors of students. The information is used by countries to establish priorities and develop programs and by international agencies to make comparisons across countries to gain better understanding of the prevalence and trends of health behaviors.The core questionnaires are designed to gain understanding of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity world wide. The students are asked questions about alcohol and drug use, dietary behaviors, hygiene, mental health, physical activity, protective factors, sexual behaviors, tobacco use and violent behaviors. User Functionality From the website, users can view results by country. Many, but not all, countries have released copies of their questionnaire, fact sheets, full reports and their data. The data is available to download to SAS, Access, SPSS or ASCII. Data Notes The survey participants are between 13 and 15 years old. For some countries, the most recent report is from 2010 and the most recent data set available for download is from 2008. The site does not specify when the data sets will be updated.