Table 2

Distributions of ZIP code, county and participant characteristics among 8992 people who inject drugs living in 19 US metro areas in 2009 

Characteristics Total
n (%) or mean (SD)
n=8992
Region*
  Northeast2116 (23.53)
  South3598 (40.01)
  Midwest938 (10.43)
  West2340 (26.02)
MSA (n=19)
County (n=51)
Percent unaffordable rental units among low-income households85.18 (6.87)
Average number of months that applicants were on waiting lists for assisted housing30.03 (17.65)
ZIP code (n=939)
Economic deprivation2.28 (2.23)
Gentrification0.41 (1.45)
Participant characteristics
Current age45.76 (10.54)
Male6450 (71.73)
Race/ethnicity
  Latino1622 (18.04)
  Black4662 (51.85)
  White2708 (30.12)
Annual income (≤US$5000)5488 (61.03)
Full-time employment394 (4.38)
Incarceration3281 (36.50)
Homelessness5394 (59.99)
Daily injection2310 (25.69)
Binge drinking4939 (54.93)
Type of sexual partner in the past 12 months
  Main4454 (49.53)
  Casual4370 (48.60)
Non-injection drug use6765 (75.23)
Recent HIV test result
  Negative result on most recent HIV test6986 (77.69)
  Positive result on most recent HIV test495 (5.50)
  • *The Northeast region includes the metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) of Boston, Massachusetts; Nassau-Suffolk, New York; New York, New York; Newark, New Jersey; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Southern region includes Atlanta, Georgia; Baltimore, Maryland; Dallas, Texas; Houston, Texas; Miami, Florida; New Orleans, Louisiana; and District of Columbia. Midwest region includes Chicago, Illinois and Detroit, Michigan. Western region includes Denver, Colorado; Los Angeles, California; San Diego, California; San Francisco, California; and Seattle, Washington.