As a public health data analyst, most of the data I am using is under the “Health” or “Demographic” indicator dropdowns. I have also used data from other areas as well, such as child abuse prevalence and food insecurity.

Bexar Data Dive is usually my starting place for any research for Bexar County / San Antonio specific data. I have the “Explore Data” page bookmarked and I can often find an indicator that matches what I am looking for. From there, I click the little information circle at the top, then “Learn more”. There, I read the detailed summary of the data and follow the “Go to source” link for any information I need past that. Once I validate that it is what I am looking for, I return to the Explore Data page, apply the filters I want, and export. Since a lot of my work involves creating reports and visuals (maps, graphs, etc.) that compare the state of health and social factors in our community, I often export the data at a zip code level, then join it to a feature layer in ArcGIS Pro. Sometimes we want to compare these factors in Bexar County to the state and county, so I’ll just record the data at the county level. I also use the “Year” and “Race or Ethnicity” filters pretty often.

I don’t know exactly how many hours it has saved me, but it has definitely saved me time and stress. As I mentioned before, it is often my starting point so I really appreciate the structure it has provided to my data search process.

Thank you all for creating and managing this amazing tool. Your work is deeply appreciated!