Table 2

Comparison of lower-income and higher-income neighbourhood variables in Baltimore City, defined by median household income

CharacteristicOverallLow income (n=28)High income (n=27)P value*
Neighbourhood demographics†
 Median household income (US$)36 362 (30 229, 47 745)30 230 (25 050, 33 240)47 760 (41 220, 60 160)<0.001
African-Americans (%)76.2 (34.7, 92.8)91.1 (76.1, 95.8)49.7 (12.0, 74.4)<0.001
Whites (%)17.6 (3.8, 52.8)5.0 (1.7, 17.6)41.7 (20.3, 75.1)<0.001
 Residents 25 years or older with a bachelor’s degree or more (%)17.7 (8.3, 32.2)9.4 (7.0, 17.4)30.4 (20.7, 49.1)<0.001
 Percentage of population > 65 years of age (%)11.4 (9.0, 13.0)12.1 (9.1, 12.8)10.9 (9.0, 14.6)0.59
Neighbourhood store densities
 Tobacco store (density per 10 000 residents)22.5 (11.3, 39.0)30.5 (19.7, 44.9)16.5 (9.1, 27.2)0.01
Alcohol store (density per 10 000 residents)4.5 (2.4, 4.7)5.5 (4.0, 7.9)2.9 (2.1, 4.7)0.001
 Fast food density (per 10 000 residents)1.5 (0.0, 2.8)1.1 (0.0, 2.6)1.7 (0.8, 3.3)0.57
Neighbourhood health outcomes
 Life expectancy at birth (years)71.9 (68.2, 74.3)68.2 (65.2, 71.7)74.3 (72.2, 76.5)<0.001
 Aged-adjusted mortality (per 10 000 residents)115.7 (99.3, 134.4)130.8 (113.2, 143.8)102.1 (87.3, 118.4)<0.001
 Deaths due to chronic lower respiratory disease (per 10 000 residents)3.7 (2.9, 5.7)3.7 (2.8, 4.9)4.5 (3.0, 6.6)0.35
  • Results are presented as median (25th, 75th percentiles).

  • *P values represent comparisons between the two neighbourhood income categories, by t-tests for continuous variables or Fisher’s exact test for categorical variables, where appropriate.

  • †Note that we only included African-American and white for race as other races made up <1% of the majority of the neighbourhoods.