Associations

As we all know from Bowling Alone and work on social capital, belonging to organizations and associations is important to our psychological well being. So how do Georgia counties stack up on this? It turns out that 2015 health data answers just this question. I extracted the data on "social associations" and ranked the counties from worst to first in parentheses the number of associations per 10,000 residents.

The Worst Counties

1. Chattahoochee (2.3)
2. Hancock (3.3)
3. Murray (4.1)
4. (tie) Clayton (4.6)
4. (tie) Lumpkin (4.6)

The Best Counties

1. Lincoln (20.7)
2. Rabun (20.2)
3. Stephens (17.4)
4. (tie) Fannin (17.0)
4. (tie) Early (17.0)

So what can we take from this? Bigger counties, like DeKalb or Fulton that dominate the greater Atlanta metroplex, aren't among the highest. Fulton, for example, is ranked 108th out of 159 counties, DeKalb is 135th.  Clarke County, where I live, is ranked 98th. Other nearby counties are Oconee (32nd), Jackson (100th), and Oglethorpe (81st). One takeaway is the vast difference, 10-fold, between the top county, at 20.7 associations per 10,000 people, and the last place county, at 2.3.  Maybe people in Lumpkin and Clayton counties just don't like one another.

If I took the time to map it out we might see more geographic trends. Or we might not. The top Georgia county is over near Savannah, the second and third place counties in the mountains. A retiree effect? That's a hypothesis worth testing.

Below, all Georgia counties and their rank. I didn't bother breaking ties because, frankly, I'm also grading papers.

 

County	Assoc per 10k	Rank
Lincoln	20.7	1
Rabun	20.2	2
Stephens	17.4	3
Fannin	17.0	4
Early	17.0	5
Franklin	16.9	6
Miller	16.8	7
Seminole	15.6	8
Greene	15.5	9
Wayne	15.5	10
Towns	15.2	11
Appling	15.2	12
Ware	15.1	13
Thomas	15.0	14
Evans	15.0	15
Clinch	14.9	16
Pike	14.6	17
Warren	14.3	18
Turner	14.3	19
Taylor	14.3	20
Fayette	14.2	21
Schley	14.0	22
Jefferson	14.0	23
Bibb	14.0	24
Union	14.0	25
Bleckley	13.9	26
Calhoun	13.8	27
Mitchell	13.8	28
Randolph	13.6	29
Upson	13.5	30
Morgan	13.4	31
Oconee	13.4	32
Sumter	13.3	33
Treutlen	13.3	34
Terrell	13.3	35
Johnson	13.1	36
Glynn	13.0	37
Dawson	12.9	38
Wilkes	12.9	39
Pulaski	12.8	40
Troup	12.7	41
Elbert	12.7	42
Meriwether	12.7	43
Tift	12.7	44
Dougherty	12.6	45
Wilkinson	12.5	46
Laurens	12.5	47
Quitman	12.5	48
Habersham	12.4	49
Brooks	12.3	50
Pierce	12.2	51
Hart	12.1	52
Toombs	12.1	53
McDuffie	12.0	54
Decatur	12.0	55
Washington	12.0	56
Taliaferro	11.9	57
Chatham	11.7	58
Chattooga	11.7	59
Lamar	11.6	60
Walker	11.6	61
Butts	11.5	62
Irwin	11.5	63
Polk	11.4	64
Grady	11.4	65
Harris	11.4	66
Floyd	11.3	67
Camden	11.3	68
Spalding	11.3	69
Monroe	11.3	70
Madison	11.1	71
Putnam	10.9	72
Muscogee	10.8	73
Webster	10.7	74
Richmond	10.7	75
Jeff Davis	10.6	76
Macon	10.5	77
Gordon	10.4	78
Dade	10.3	79
Carroll	10.3	80
Oglethorpe	10.3	81
White	10.2	82
Montgomery	10.1	83
Colquitt	10.0	84
Coffee	10.0	85
Stewart	9.9	86
Candler	9.9	87
Screven	9.9	88
Dodge	9.8	89
Banks	9.8	90
Bacon	9.8	91
Telfair	9.8	92
Effingham	9.8	93
Catoosa	9.7	94
Clay	9.6	95
Bryan	9.6	96
Gilmer	9.6	97
Clarke	9.5	98
Twiggs	9.5	99
Jackson	9.4	100
Crisp	9.3	101
Lowndes	9.3	102
Haralson	9.2	103
Whitfield	9.1	104
Burke	9.1	105
Dooly	9.1	106
Berrien	8.9	107
Fulton	8.9	108
Baldwin	8.8	109
Jasper	8.8	110
Worth	8.7	111
Jenkins	8.7	112
McIntosh	8.7	113
Tattnall	8.7	114
Walton	8.5	115
Hall	8.3	116
Cook	8.3	117
Rockdale	8.0	118
Coweta	8.0	119
Heard	7.7	120
Talbot	7.7	121
Houston	7.6	122
Bartow	7.6	123
Pickens	7.5	124
Bulloch	7.4	125
Emanuel	7.4	126
Ben Hill	7.4	127
Barrow	7.4	128
Cobb	7.4	129
Jones	7.3	130
Liberty	7.3	131
Atkinson	7.2	132
Peach	7.2	133
Columbia	7.2	134
DeKalb	7.1	135
Cherokee	7.1	136
Brantley	7.0	137
Henry	6.7	138
Lanier	6.7	139
Gwinnett	6.7	140
Wilcox	6.6	141
Newton	6.6	142
Glascock	6.4	143
Crawford	6.3	144
Forsyth	6.1	145
Charlton	6.0	146
Baker	5.9	147
Marion	5.7	148
Douglas	5.7	149
Paulding	5.3	150
Wheeler	5.1	151
Echols	5.0	152
Long	5.0	153
Lee	4.9	154
Lumpkin	4.6	155
Clayton	4.6	156
Murray	4.1	157
Hancock	3.3	158
Chattahoochee	2.3	159