Answer:
Calculating a Rate
It is customary to use rates per 100,000 population for deaths and rates per 1,000
population for live births.
To calculate the rate for deaths from injuries and poisoning for Allen County in 2000, do
the following calculation:
Number of deaths fron injuriespoisoning in 2000/
Estimated 2ounty populaticn in 2000 x 100,000
Or, 100/331 849 X
100000
3013
There may or may not be 100,000 residents in the county under review, but multiplying
the result by 100,000 makes that rate comparable with counties with more than 100,000
or less than 100,000 (such as Bartholomew County).
Make sure you use the same population base when calculating rates for comparison.
For comparing Allen County with Bartholomew County, use the 2000 population
estimates for each population base. Population data can come from the Census Bureau
(www.census.gov) or the Indiana Business Research Center ( www.stats.indiana.edu/ ).
Another example is the number of deaths from communicable diseases is 18 per
100,000. A rate of 18 per 100,000 is not 18 percent, but .018 percent. To make a rate
into a percent, for the example of 18 deaths per 100,000 population, divide by 1,000:
18/ 1,000 x 100000= 1800
Be careful about the decimal point. This formula cannot be used with age-
adjusted rates. Be very clear about the denominator.
