the survey
Check how wide a number is before you quote it
Missouri's 21.8 percent could be anywhere from 19.8 to 24.1. Illinois's 16.4 percent could be 13.3 to 19.9. The width of that range, for all 48 jurisdictions that reported the question. CDC BRFSS Q36, survey year 2021, adults 65 and older.
Every figure on this site comes with a 95 percent confidence interval, printed beside it. This page ranks the intervals themselves, widest first, so you can see how much slack sits behind a rank before you repeat it to a sibling. It is the plainest page on the site and probably the most useful one to read second.
the seven widest
Start with the seven that could move the most
California
Width of the 95 percent range: 8.4 points 18.7 to 27.1, around an estimate of 22.7
South Dakota
Width of the 95 percent range: 8.2 points 19.0 to 27.2, around an estimate of 22.8
Nevada
Width of the 95 percent range: 8.0 points 14.1 to 22.1, around an estimate of 17.8
Pennsylvania (p)
Width of the 95 percent range: 7.3 points 16.5 to 23.8, around an estimate of 19.9
Massachusetts
Width of the 95 percent range: 6.8 points 15.2 to 22.0, around an estimate of 18.4
Maryland
Width of the 95 percent range: 6.7 points 22.1 to 28.8, around an estimate of 25.3
Illinois
Width of the 95 percent range: 6.6 points 13.3 to 19.9, around an estimate of 16.4
California's estimate of 22.7 percent puts it 14th of 48 on the caregiver share page. Its high limit of 27.1 would put it 1st; its low limit of 18.7 would put it 34th. That is not a flaw in the survey; it is what a survey of a sample looks like when it is reported honestly.
how to read it
all 48
Scan every range
| Rank by width | State or territory | Low limit | Estimate (percent) | High limit | Width (points) | Rank on the estimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 18.7 | 22.7 | 27.1 | 8.4 | 14 |
| 2 | South Dakota | 19.0 | 22.8 | 27.2 | 8.2 | 13 |
| 3 | Nevada | 14.1 | 17.8 | 22.1 | 8.0 | 40 |
| 4 | Pennsylvania (p) | 16.5 | 19.9 | 23.8 | 7.3 | 27 |
| 5 | Massachusetts | 15.2 | 18.4 | 22.0 | 6.8 | 36 |
| 6 | Maryland | 22.1 | 25.3 | 28.8 | 6.7 | 3 |
| 7 | Illinois | 13.3 | 16.4 | 19.9 | 6.6 | 46 |
| 8 | Oklahoma | 18.1 | 21.1 | 24.5 | 6.4 | 21 |
| 9 | Arizona (p) | 21.7 | 24.7 | 28.0 | 6.3 | 5 |
| 10 | Delaware | 15.4 | 18.4 | 21.7 | 6.3 | 35 |
| 11 | Alaska | 20.4 | 23.3 | 26.6 | 6.2 | 10 |
| 12 | Michigan | 16.9 | 19.7 | 23.0 | 6.1 | 29 |
| 13 | Oregon | 17.9 | 20.7 | 23.9 | 6.0 | 23 |
| 14 | Louisiana | 20.3 | 23.1 | 26.1 | 5.8 | 11 |
| 15 | Colorado (p) | 14.9 | 17.5 | 20.4 | 5.5 | 42 |
| 16 | Kentucky | 17.9 | 20.5 | 23.4 | 5.5 | 24 |
| 17 | Mississippi | 22.2 | 24.8 | 27.7 | 5.5 | 4 |
| 18 | Texas | 20.8 | 23.4 | 26.3 | 5.5 | 9 |
| 19 | Wyoming | 18.8 | 21.4 | 24.2 | 5.4 | 20 |
| 20 | New Jersey | 19.2 | 21.7 | 24.4 | 5.2 | 19 |
| 21 | North Carolina | 14.8 | 17.3 | 20.0 | 5.2 | 44 |
| 22 | Rhode Island | 17.4 | 19.8 | 22.4 | 5.0 | 28 |
| 23 | Puerto Rico | 8.7 | 10.9 | 13.6 | 4.9 | 48 |
| 24 | Wisconsin | 21.0 | 23.4 | 25.9 | 4.9 | 8 |
| 25 | Hawaii | 15.2 | 17.5 | 20.0 | 4.8 | 41 |
| 26 | New Mexico | 15.6 | 17.9 | 20.4 | 4.8 | 39 |
| 27 | Utah (p) | 23.5 | 25.8 | 28.3 | 4.8 | 2 |
| 28 | Connecticut | 17.1 | 19.3 | 21.8 | 4.7 | 33 |
| 29 | Alabama | 17.4 | 19.6 | 22.0 | 4.6 | 30 |
| 30 | Vermont | 17.2 | 19.4 | 21.7 | 4.5 | 32 |
| 31 | Arkansas | 21.4 | 23.5 | 25.8 | 4.4 | 7 |
| 32 | Idaho | 20.9 | 23.0 | 25.3 | 4.4 | 12 |
| 33 | Virginia (p) | 20.3 | 22.4 | 24.7 | 4.4 | 16 |
| 34 | Missouri | 19.8 | 21.8 | 24.1 | 4.3 | 18 |
| 35 | Kansas | 20.6 | 22.6 | 24.7 | 4.1 | 15 |
| 36 | Georgia (p) | 18.2 | 20.1 | 22.2 | 4.0 | 25 |
| 37 | Maine | 14.7 | 16.6 | 18.7 | 4.0 | 45 |
| 38 | Nebraska | 18.0 | 19.9 | 22.0 | 4.0 | 26 |
| 39 | Ohio | 24.0 | 25.9 | 28.0 | 4.0 | 1 |
| 40 | North Dakota | 16.7 | 18.5 | 20.5 | 3.8 | 34 |
| 41 | South Carolina | 22.3 | 24.2 | 26.1 | 3.8 | 6 |
| 42 | Iowa | 19.2 | 21.0 | 22.9 | 3.7 | 22 |
| 43 | West Virginia | 16.5 | 18.2 | 20.2 | 3.7 | 37 |
| 44 | New York | 14.1 | 15.8 | 17.7 | 3.6 | 47 |
| 45 | Indiana | 20.2 | 21.9 | 23.7 | 3.5 | 17 |
| 46 | New Hampshire (p) | 16.4 | 18.0 | 19.8 | 3.4 | 38 |
| 47 | Minnesota | 15.9 | 17.3 | 18.7 | 2.8 | 43 |
| 48 | Washington (p) | 18.5 | 19.6 | 20.8 | 2.3 | 31 |
| United States, DC & Territories (not ranked) | 19.9 | 20.7 | 21.5 | 1.6 |
The last column is the position each jurisdiction holds on the caregiver share page, where the same 48 are ordered on the estimate instead. Missouri and Illinois are shaded because this desk covers the St. Louis metro.
what to do with it
Use the range, not the rank, when it matters
- Before you quote Missouri's rank of 18, look at who it overlaps. Missouri's range, 19.8 to 24.1, overlaps the range of 43 of the other 47 jurisdictions. The only four it clears are Minnesota (43rd), Maine (45th), New York (47th), Puerto Rico (48th). So "18th of 48" is true and also close to meaningless as a comparison with most of the table.
- Treat a gap of half a point as no gap. The median width on this page is 4.85 points, and 39 of the 48 intervals are 4 points wide or wider. A difference smaller than that between two states is inside the noise for almost every pair.
- Read the estimate as a centre, not a fact. The state's true figure is most likely near the estimate and could reasonably be anywhere in the range. That is what a 95 percent interval means and all it means.
- Trust the national row more than any state row. The United States interval is 1.6 points wide because it pools every state's answers. When you want one number to hold onto, 20.7 percent is the steadiest one on the site.
- Do not use width as a judgement of a state. A wide interval says a state's sample was small or its answers varied. It says nothing about caregivers there.
next