Washington, D.C. and Providence, R.I. — Today, Brown University’s Information Futures Lab and Listening Post Collective announced the launch of the 2026 Civic Information Index, a first-of-its-kind framework and practical data tool for assessing the state of civic health and civic information across the U.S.
The Civic Information Index provides unique insights into the strengths and challenges of every community in the country, combining 27 diverse data sets — such as the Census response rate, broadband access and housing insecurity — into one framework. The Index underscores news and information as an essential part of civic infrastructure necessary to enable robust, thriving communities.
“Divisive narratives aside, every community deserves to be considered based on what’s actually happening on the ground, and the efforts civic institutions and individuals make to improve the lives of their neighbors every day,” said Jesse Hardman, founder of the Listening Post Collective. “The breadth and depth of the Index’s community-based data begins to make this possible.”
Tracking this data has never been more important. “We are launching the 2026 Index in a changed America. Communities are challenged by sweeping changes to social support systems while residents are engaging in organizing, giving and volunteering — and local newsrooms and information stewards are stepping up to respond to evolving information needs,” said Stefanie Friedhoff, director of the Information Futures Lab at Brown University's School of Public Health. “The Index helps local leaders and newsrooms understand what to look out for amidst these shifts, where the changes may be felt the most going forward and where their interventions may be most impactful.”
Nuanced data for every county
The Civic Information Index provides detailed data and overall Index scores at the county level through an interactive dashboard. First launched in fall 2024, it provides a novel way of assessing news and information ecosystems by looking beyond news providers and including elements such as library visits, language needs and literacy. Additionally, the Index uniquely integrates this data with other civic indicators – from health outcomes to economic opportunities to civic participation. With this data, the Civic Information Index illuminates trends, outliers and reinforcing factors that drive a community’s ability to thrive.
The 2026 edition expands the Civic Information Index to include environmental resilience as a core pillar (with data such as household energy burden and storm damage), and adds new data (such as active voters and mental health providers) to existing pillars. It also provides updated data for 18 of the 21 indicators included in the initial 2024 edition.
2026 Civic Information Index findings reveal regional disparities and opportunities
Like the 2024 edition, the 2026 Index consistently finds lower civic health scores for Appalachian communities as well as most communities with a higher percentage of Black, Hispanic/Latino or Native American residents, respectively, illustrating the impact of sustained economic and racial discrimination. However since the framework and indicators were expanded between the 2024 and 2026 editions, overall Index scores should not be directly compared.
The new data on environmental resilience also shows how regions in the central South and Midwest are experiencing a high burden from accelerating extreme weather events — and that increasing heat poses challenges almost everywhere.
By adding voter registration data to the existing voter turnout data, the Index now makes visible parts of the country where more than 40% of registered voters didn’t vote in the last presidential election. Appalachia, the Black South and some predominantly Hispanic/Latino communities again stand out, illustrating where voter registration does not always translate to voting participation.
In places where individual data sets are comparable, the Index also begins to show how journalism, community activism and political leadership can make a difference: medical debt has gone down in most places across the country between 2022 and 2025, a gain for civic health. Alaska is an outlier here, and worth investigating.
“We are at a critical moment, both for how we think about measuring civic health, and for understanding what risks we face if we stop paying attention to it," said Cameron Hickey, CEO, National Conference on Citizenship and a member of the Civic Information Index Advisory Group.
More detailed findings in the Index report
The Index in action
The Civic Information Index is a tool for action. Since its launch in 2024, it has been used by newsrooms, civic and media innovators, funders, universities, community organizations and local governments across the country in their work. They rely on it to build investment strategies, identify underserved neighborhoods, better understand residents’ needs and realities and connect across health, civic engagement, local news and other sectors. Some of the organizations that have leveraged the Index and its insights include the MacArthur Foundation, North Carolina Local News Fund, Press Forward Central Appalachia, Documented and the University of Oregon.
“This year, as public media across the United States experienced unprecedented destabilization, the Civic Information Index became one of the most valuable tools we had for grounding our advocacy, understanding risk and championing the needs of small, rural, BIPOC and Tribal communities navigating worsening information inequities,” said A. Rima Dael, CEO of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters and a member of the Civic Information Index Advisory Group.
How the Index was created
The Information Futures Lab and Listening Post Collective co-created the 2026 Index in partnership with an Advisory Group of civic and data experts, journalists and information ecosystem leaders, and with feedback and insights from the many innovators and leaders who use the data and concepts in their work. Brown University’s Center for Health System Sustainability provided crucial support on data curation and analysis. The initial 2024 edition was made possible with support from Press Forward, and the dashboard build out and 2026 edition was supported by Democracy Fund.
Read more about the Index methodology
Read the full report and explore the interactive dashboard on the Civic Information Index website.
Contacts
Information Futures Lab
Caroline Hoffman (caroline_hoffman2@brown.edu)
Assistant Director, Content and Strategy, Information Futures Lab
Listening Post Collective
Rebecca Greenwald (rgreenwald@internews.org)
Communications Specialist, Listening Post Collective
About Listening Post Collective
The Listening Post Collective, a project of Internews, supports early-stage, grassroots information providers across the United States, from nonprofit information and media entrepreneurs, community radio stations, tribal media, immigrant led newsrooms and more. They focus in areas that are often under-resourced, including Appalachia, the rural Midwest, Southwest border communities, the Southeast and Tribal communities. Listening Post Collective develops and uses signature open-source tools including the Civic Media Playbook and Civic Information Index to help practitioners around the country strengthen their community information ecosystems. Listening Post Collective is currently working to build civic power by supporting new information and media initiatives in 100 underserved communities across the United States by 2030.
About the Information Futures Lab
Brown University’s Information Futures Lab is an interdisciplinary space for civic society leaders, journalists, researchers, public officials, and other creators and sources of trusted information. Together, we respond to the ongoing information crisis as a civic and public health threat. We listen deeply, disrupt exclusive knowledge hierarchies, connect siloed leaders, expand access to quality information, and strengthen skills to see past deception and manufactured controversy. Our vision is a future where people can access, create and make sense of information that is crucial to their wellbeing, and where communities can have productive conversations and solve urgent problems—so all Americans can thrive.