The [REPLACE STATE/REGISTRY] Cancer Atlas project aims to provide data
for geographies beyond county-level statistics to better serve cancer control, public health, and
policy efforts.
[REPLACE STATE/REGISTRY] Cancer Atlas allows users to interactively
map health data for [REPLACE STATE/REGISTRY] at a geographic level
called zones, which are aggregates of census tracts. We have used a data-driven approach to define
[REPLACE NUM_ZONES] zones for [REPLACE
STATE/REGISTRY], based on similar characteristics (poverty, urbanicity, racial/ethnic
minority composition) and a minimum of 50,000 residents. These areas are generally smaller than
county, but larger than census tract. Zones vary in population size from [REPLACE MINIMUM ZONE POPULATION] to [REPLACE
MAXIMUM ZONE POPULATION] with the number of census tracts ranging from [REPLACE MINIMUM TRACTS PER ZONE] to [REPLACE MAXIMUM TRACTS PER ZONE].
The [REPLACE STATE/REGISTRY] Cancer Atlas includes 1-year, 5-year and 10-year
cancer incidence rates based on the most current data for the [REPLACE NUM_CANCER_SITES] most common invasive cancer sites and
for all sites combined by sex and race/ethnicity ([CONFIRM RACE
LIST]). Cancer incidence rates will be updated as more current data become available.
These maps also include selected population demographic data based on 2010 Census and 2015-2019 American Community Survey data.
More information on how the maps were developed is available in Zaria Tatalovich et al.’s Developing Geographic Areas for Cancer Reporting Using Automated Zone Design” (American Journal of Epidemiology, Volume 191, Issue 12, December 2022, Pages 2109–2119).
Suggested Citation
New Jersey Health Maps. Based on Nov 2024 New Jersey State Cancer Registry SEER Submission File. New Jersey State Cancer Registry. Retrieved Month Day, Year,
from https://njcanceratlas.njscr.org .
Project Team
[REPLACE REGISTRY]
Rutgers Cancer Institute
National Cancer Institute
Westat, Inc.
Technical Notes
DataGuidelines FINAL v2025.0326.pdf
Contact Information
https://www.nj.gov/health/ces/contact.shtml
Funding
[REPLACE FUNDING SOURCE]
On this website, data are shown by cancer reporting zone. These zones have been designed so that they have a minimum population, have similar demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, and are geographically compact (they minimize the distance between different parts of the zone). The minimum population for each zone is 50,000 people.
Counties with larger populations (more than 100,000 people) were divided into multiple Zones by combining adjacent census tracts. Three demographic and socioeconomic characteristics were used to determine similarity: the percent of the population who are not non-Hispanic White, percent of the population with incomes below poverty, and the proportion of the population living in urban and rural areas.
Newark is treated as if it were a county. The census tracts within Newark are partitioned into 5 Zones. The remainder of Essex County is partitioned without consideration of Newark.
For counties Cape May and Salem, which have between 50,000 and 100,000 people, the county is the Zone.
We used population data from Census 2010 and Census 2010 tract geographies to construct the zones.
Poverty data came from the American Community Survey 2012-2016 5-year data. We used a software zone
design program called AZTool to identify aggregations of adjacent tracts and counties that
optimize the three objectives: a target population of 50,000, geographic compactness, and similarity
in terms of minority population, poverty, and urbanicity characteristics.
More information on how the maps were developed is available in Zaria Tatalovich et al.’s
"Developing Geographic Areas for Cancer Reporting
Using Automated Zone Design” (American Journal of Epidemiology, Volume 191, Issue 12, December 2022, Pages 2109–2119).
Zone Names
Census Tract Aggregation Zone (CTAZ or “Zone”) names are given by the largest municipality in the Zone by population. Should a municipality straddle one or more CTAZs, then the population of the municipality is apportioned by the area within each CTAZ. For a hypothetical example, if Springfield has a population of 100,000 and 60% is in Zone A and 40% in Zone B, then 60,000 Springfield residents are assigned to Zone A and 40,000 residents to Zone B. If 60,000 was the largest municipality by population in Zone A then Zone A would be named Springfield.
In the case of large cities such as Newark, the Zone names are assigned based on the predominant neighborhood within the Zone.
Aggregation:
The process of combining smaller units into a single, summarized value for statistical reporting. See Methodology for more information.
Age-Adjusted Incidence Rate (AAIR):
The rate of new cancers per 100,000 population that would occur in a certain period of time if that population had a ‘standard’ age distribution.
In the [REPLACE STATE/REGISTRY] Cancer Atlas, incidence rates are age-adjusted using the U.S. 2000 Standard Population . This statistical measure allows for the fair comparison of incidence rates between populations with different age structures, reducing the impact of age as a confounder. This is important because the incidence of most cancers increases with age.
Confidence Interval:
A statistical measure of the precision of the observed incidence rate. The lower confidence interval (LCI) and upper confidence interval (UCI) provide a range within which the true rate is thought to be with 95% confidence. Rates based on larger numbers of cases are subject to narrower, more precise, confidence intervals.
Data Suppression:
To ensure confidentiality and stable statistical rates, cancer incidence rates are suppressed and reported as * when there are [REPLACE REPORTING MIN CASES] or fewer cancer cases.
Demographics:
Statistical data relating to the population and particular groups within it. Demographic variables such as race, sex, and education are generally thought to influence many outcomes of interest, including cancer incidence. These data are from the 2010 U.S. Census and the 2015-2019 American Community Survey.
Incidence:
The number of new cases of cancer diagnosed in the selected time period.
Invasive Cancer:
Cancer that has spread beyond the layer of tissue in which it developed and is growing into surrounding, healthy tissues. Also called infiltrating cancer.
Race/Ethnicity:
Race/ethnicity is categorized as: All races/ethnicities, Non-Hispanic (NH) White, NH Black, NH Asian/Pacific Islander or Hispanic. All race/ethnicity includes all of the above, as well as American Indian/Alaskan Native, other and unknown race/ethnicity. The American Indian/Alaska Nativegroup is not reported separately due to small numbers for many cancer sites in
[REPLACE STATE/REGISTRY].
Racial/Ethnic Composition:
Distribution of residents’ race/ethnicity (e.g., % Hispanic, % non-Hispanic White, % non-Hispanic Black).
Source: US Census, 2010.
Sex:
[REPLACE STATE/REGISTRY] Cancer Registry defines this field as the sex or gender of the cancer patient, and codes available are male, female, intersex, transsexual, and transgender (natal male, natal female, or not specified). However, categories beyond male and female are not consistently coded by medical reporting facilities, and population estimates for gender categories beyond male and female are not available. Thus, cancer incidence data are reported for only male and female sex at this time.
% Living in Rural Area:
Percent of residents who reside in blocks that are designated as rural.
Source: US Census, 2010.
% Age 65+:
Percentage of the population aged 65 years and older.
Source: Environmental Justice Index Project. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 2022.
% Minority (other than non-Hispanic White):
Percent of residents whose race/ethnicity is not non-Hispanic White.
Source: US Census, 2010.
% Hispanic:
Percent of residents whose race/ethnicity is Hispanic of any race.
Source: US Census, 2010.
% Black (non-Hispanic):
Percent of residents whose race/ethnicity is non-Hispanic Black.
Source: US Census, 2010.
% Asian/Pacific Islander(non-Hispanic):
Percent of residents whose race/ethnicity is non-Hispanic Asian/Pacific Islander.
Source: US Census, 2010.
% Foreign Born:
Percent of population that is foreign born.
Sources: 5-year time period: American Community Survey, 2015-2019; 10-year time period: American Community Survey, 2010-2014 and 2015-2019.
% With a Disability:
Percent of population with a disability.
Sources: 5-year time period: American Community Survey, 2015-2019; 10-year time period: American Community Survey, 2010-2014 and 2015-2019.
% Did Not Finish High School:
Percent of population with less than a high school graduate education.
Sources: 5-year time period: American Community Survey, 2015-2019; 10-year time period: American Community Survey, 2010-2014 and 2015-2019.
% With Bachelor's Degree or Higher:
Percent of population with a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Sources: 5-year time period: American Community Survey, 2015-2019; 10-year time period: American Community Survey, 2010-2014 and 2015-2019.
% Below Poverty:
Percent of population below poverty level in the past 12 months.
Sources: 5-year time period: American Community Survey, 2015-2019; 10-year time period: American Community Survey, 2010-2014 and 2015-2019.
% Without Health Insurance:
Percent of population without health insurance.
Sources: 5-year time period: American Community Survey, 2015-2019; 10-year time period: American Community Survey, 2010-2014 and 2015-2019.
% Binge Drinking
Prevalence of binge drinking among adults aged >=18 years.
Source: PLACES Project. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2023.
% Current Smoking
Prevalence of current smoking among adults aged >=18 years.
Source: PLACES Project. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2023.
% Physical Inactivity
Prevalence of no leisure-time physical activity among adults aged >=18 years.
Source: PLACES Project. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2023.
% Obese
Prevalence of obesity among adults aged >=18 years.
Source: PLACES Project. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2023.
% Cervical Cancer Screening
Prevalence of cervical cancer screening among adult women aged 21-65 years (only available for 2010 census geographies).
Source: PLACES Project. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2023.
% Mammography
Prevalence of mammography use among women aged 50-74 years.
Source: PLACES Project. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2023.
% Colorectal Cancer Screening
Prevalence of colorectal cancer screening among adults aged 50-75 years.
Source: PLACES Project. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2023.
% Preventive Care (Men 65+)
Among older adult men aged >=65 years, prevalence of those who are up to date on a core set of clinical preventive services: Flu shot past year, PPV shot ever, Colorectal cancer screening.
Source: PLACES Project. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2023.
% Preventive Care (Women 65+)
Among older adult women aged >=65 years, prevalence of those who are up to date on a core set of clinical preventive services: Flu shot past year, PPV shot ever, Colorectal cancer screening, and Mammogram past 2 years.
Source: PLACES Project. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2023.
% Annual Checkup
Prevalence of visits to doctor for routine checkup within the past year among adults aged >= 18 years.
Source: PLACES Project. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2023.
Environmental Justice Index
A comprehensive score that measures the cumulative impacts of environmental hazards, social inequities, and preexisting health conditions on a community. It is the percentile rank of the zone among all New Jersey zones.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. 2022 Environmental Justice Index
Social Vulnerability Index
A metric that evaluates a neighborhood's capacity to prepare for, respond to, and recover from hazardous events or disasters based on socioeconomic and demographic traits. It is the percentile rank of the zone among all New Jersey zones.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/ Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry/ Geospatial Research, Analysis, and Services Program. CDC/ATSDR Social Vulnerability Index (2018) Database, New Jersey.
