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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