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Table 2 Mean county-level demographic and land-use characteristics in low and high nitrate community water systems

From: Environmental justice and drinking water quality: are there socioeconomic disparities in nitrate levels in U.S. drinking water?

Variable All systems (n = 39,466) Low nitrate CWSsa (n = 37,819) High nitrate CWSsb (n = 1647)
Percent Black, non-Hispanic (%) 8.4 8.6 4.0#
Percent Hispanic (%) 11.4 11.1 18.1#
Percent poverty (%) 15.7 15.7 14.8#
Percent home ownership (%) 70.1 70.2 68.6#
Percent urban households (%) 36.5 36.3 40.3#
Percent cropland (%) 20.2 19.6 35.5#
Livestock (number per 100 acres) 9.5 9.2 16.6#
  1. Note: Means calculated by imputing zero for nondetects
  2. aMean nitrate < 5 mg/L NO3-N
  3. bMean nitrate ≥ 5 mg/L NO3-N
  4. #Mean significantly different between two groups (high vs. low nitrate) using unequal variances t-test, (p < 0.001)
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Environmental Health

ISSN: 1476-069X