Contraceptive Access Maps

Can women who rely on publicly funded contraceptive services access this care in their communities?

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Project Overview

Created in collaboration with Power to Decide, the Contraceptive Access Maps draw on multiple data sources from 2020–2023 to depict alignment between women’s* potential need for low- or no-cost birth control services and the number of publicly funded health clinics offering contraceptive services in every US county. If there is a misalignment between need and availability, the county is considered to have a Contraceptive Access Gap.

This new resource, housed in full on Power to Decide’s website, marks a fundamental shift in how contraceptive access is understood and measured, building on Power to Decide’s previous conceptualization of “contraceptive deserts.” Critically, these maps reflect individuals’ self-defined need for birth control and draw on patient caseload data to depict the realities of local clinic availability and sexual and reproductive health service delivery. 

For full project description and methodology visit Power to Decide.

Map Descriptions

The first map shows the availability of any publicly funded contraceptive care, while the second map depicts the availability of publicly funded clinics offering the full range of contraceptive methods.

As the maps shift from dark to light, access declines, with grey representing counties with no health centers providing low- or no-cost contraceptive services.

Key Highlights

  • In the United States, 21.4 million women of reproductive age in need of low- or no-cost contraception live in a county where the need for publicly funded contraception is greater than the availability of services.
  • 17.5 million of those women live in a county where clinic availability meets 25% or less of that need.
  • Nearly two million women in need of low- or no-cost contraception live in a county without access to a health center that offers the full range of birth control methods.
  • Over one million women in need of low- or no-cost contraception live in a county without a single publicly funded health center offering any type of contraceptive care.

Footnote

*This page uses “women” because the data sources used in these analyses do not systematically provide additional detail on respondents’ sex or gender. Some rely on individuals’ self-identification as female or women. Other surveys base eligibility on respondents’ gender assigned at birth. We recognize that people across the gender spectrum may need or want to use contraception in their lifetimes.

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