CHICAGO, Ill. — The NAACP and Sanofi have launched a new interactive health equity map that uses responses from nearly 23,000 people to provide a ZIP-code-level look at factors affecting health and well-being in communities across the country.
The tool, ‘Black Communities’ Health: In Plain Sight,’ was unveiled during the 117th NAACP National Convention. It draws on findings from the ACE Your Health Community Wellness Survey and is intended to help residents, advocates, policy makers and health organizations better understand differences in access to healthcare and other resources.
The interactive map allows users to examine how race, gender, income and geography correspond with access to healthy food, quality healthcare, culturally responsive providers, safe neighborhoods, clean air and water, and stable housing. Those factors were among the issues survey participants identified as important to their health and well-being.
“Black communities have always known what they face,” said Dr. Chris Pernell, director of the NAACP Center for Health Equity. “Now, nearly 23,000 voices have made their insights undeniable.”
Pernell said the map provides a way to present residents’ experiences alongside geographic data and could help policy makers and community leaders identify areas where additional resources may be needed.
The ACE Your Health Community Wellness Survey was conducted from January through September 2025 and collected responses from 22,689 residents across 47 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The responses cover nearly 4,000 ZIP codes and can be examined by demographic categories including race and gender.
Among the survey findings, 63% of respondents reported living with at least one chronic health condition. Access to hospitals varied by income. Twenty-eight percent of respondents earning less than $20,000 annually said they lived within five to 10 minutes of a quality hospital, compared with roughly one-third of respondents earning $60,000 or more.
The survey also found differences in proximity to grocery stores. Although 94% of respondents reported having a grocery store nearby, 38% of respondents earning less than $20,000 said they had one within five minutes. Among those earning $100,000 or more, that figure was 56%.
Respondents generally rated air quality more favorably than water quality. Eighty-one percent described the air quality in their neighborhoods as good, while 38% gave the same rating to their water quality. The survey found some variation by income, with 31% of lower-income respondents describing their water quality as good, compared with 40% of higher-income respondents.
“Data alone don’t change health outcomes, action does,” said Tanisha M. Sullivan, head of External Engagement & Health Equity Strategy at Sanofi. “This map helps translate data into actionable insights for the people who need it most: patients, local leaders, advocates, and community members.”
The map was produced in collaboration with CommunityWorks and Us At Spaces, LLC. Organizers said it is designed as an ongoing resource that can be used to identify local needs and inform discussions about investment, healthcare services and public policy.
Users can search ZIP-code-level information on access to hospitals, pharmacies, healthy food, green spaces and culturally responsive health care. The data can also be viewed by race and gender to examine differences among groups within individual communities.
The project follows the release of the broader ACE Your Health Community Wellness Survey report, which identified five areas for additional attention: housing and environmental conditions, transportation access, affordable and culturally responsive care, food access and cost, and chronic stress and caregiving burdens.
By placing survey responses on an interactive geographic map, the NAACP and Sanofi say the project is intended to make national findings more useful at the local level and give communities another source of information when considering health programs, investment and policy decisions.
The ACE Your Health initiative is led by the NAACP Center for Health Equity in collaboration with Sanofi.
