College Spread of COVID-19 in Ohio

TL;DR

This study analyzes COVID-19 spread in Ohio counties, comparing counties with and without colleges, revealing significant differences overall but not within metro/non-metro groups.

Contribution

It provides a detailed statistical comparison of COVID-19 spread between college and non-college counties in Ohio, including metro and non-metro distinctions.

Findings

Significant COVID-19 case differences between counties with and without colleges.

No significant difference in COVID-19 spread between metro and non-metro counties.

Statistical methods confirm the importance of college presence in COVID-19 spread analysis.

Abstract

Cumulative COVID-19 case counts by county in Ohio were gathered and combined with population data from the Census Bureau and student enrollment by county from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) for colleges or universities that compete in NCAA sports. Monthly median percent increases, monthly average percent increases, and average cases per 100k of COVID cases between counties with colleges and counties without colleges were calculated. The Wilcoxon test was used to determine if the samples were similar, and the analysis found the differences were statistically significant. Metro and non-metro groupings were added to the average cases per 100k to further subdivide the data set. Analysis found no statistically significant differences.