Savannah, situated on Georgia's southeast coast, is home to 145,094 people and is the seat of Chatham County. The city offers residents and visitors a wide variety of amenities, including world class healthcare, several universities and colleges, walkable neighborhoods, a thriving local dining scene and beach activities. It offers a diversified job market, with the Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation serving as its largest employer, followed by International Paper, the Georgia ports and other service oriented industries.

While there is a wealth of opportunity in Savannah, residents here are experiencing uneven gains. The median income is low relative to the state, and the poverty rate is high despite the city having education levels on par with Georgia.

 Residents with high school diploma/equivalent or greater Median incomePoverty rateResidents with health insurance of any kind
Savannah86.7%$39,38624%81.5%
Georgia86.3%$52,97716.9%85.2%

Continue scrolling to learn how these demographic factors impact residents’ health and wellness. Below are our overall health risk findings and visualization tools (a data dashboard and storymap) to provide in depth analysis of the 500 Cities dataset and community assets.


Savannah Health Risks

Our research shows that, relative to the rest of the country, Savannah's residents are at markedly higher risk for developing diabetes, experiencing a stroke, developing COPD and experiencing low sleep.

Overall Health Risks Findings



Many of Savannah neighborhoods that have lower life expectancy also rank poorly in overall health.

Diabetes



Stroke



COPD



Low Sleep



Savannah Data Dashboard

The dashboard visualizes how the census tracts compare to one another and the country as a whole.

To use, first select "Health Outcomes," "Prevention" or "Unhealthy Behaviors" from the top-right drop-down box, then select the indicator of interest from the second drop-down menu.

Use the percentile rank indicators to see how Savannah's Census tracts compare to 500 Cities tracts across the country.


Savannah Storymap

The Storymap tool offers an in depth look at how the high risk diseases play out across Savannah, allow users to see how they compare to different risk factors and allow users to see compare and contrast the social determinants of health with the health risks.


This research is based upon work supported by the Urban Institute through funds provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. We thank them for their support but acknowledge that the findings and conclusions presented in this report are those of the author(s) alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Urban Institute or the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.