Methodology

Primary source: Medicare Geographic Variation by County (dataset id geo-var-county, vintage 2023, downloaded 2026-04-13, 33,639 rows in source).

Percentile badges compare this county against all US counties that appear in the relevant dataset. "Lower is better" metrics (spending, readmission rates, chronic-disease prevalence, SDOH adversity) use an inverted color ramp — low percentile = green (good), high percentile = red (bad).

Medicare Geographic Variation shows standardized per-capita spending, utilization, and demographic characteristics for Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries at the county level. Standardized payments remove geographic payment adjustments so counties can be compared fairly. AHRQ Prevention Quality Indicators (PQIs) measure the rate of hospitalization for ambulatory-care-sensitive conditions (ACSCs).

Full methodology →