There is increasing demand and requirements for local health departments (LHDs) to conduct community health assessments (CHAs) and develop community health improvement plans (CHIPs) to support Public Health Accreditation Board certification and achieve community health goals. A critical step for the CHA is collecting qualitative data, an invaluable resource in understanding concerns of priority populations and exploring root causes of community inequities. We sought to establish a qualitative analytical method that would facilitate 1) identifying themes within and across focus groups and 2) progressing the equity-centered initiatives of the CHA and CHIP. Transcriptions of ten population-specific focus groups from one urban region were provided. Each focus group followed the same interview guide consisting of nine health-related questions. Data was then stratified by question per speaker and analyzed through both deductive and inductive coding using a novel thematic topic guide. The guide included deductive parent topics and subtopics representing the five domains of the Social Determinants of Health (SDOH). Inductive coding was incorporated through the addition of common words or phrases as transcripts were reviewed. All codes were visually represented to support the determination of focused approaches to improve health equity. Deductive coding methods allowed for successful categorization of parent and subtopics by question within focus groups and allowed for clear identification of differences among focus groups. Inductive coding methods established the basis for revealing more detailed themes discussed within focus groups. Collectively, our results enabled discernment of unique concerns among priority populations. Results of our analysis provided an understanding of priority population’s perspective to help identify CHA health priorities. Qualitative analysis methods harness the power of community voices and enable identification of population-specific needs to address unique health, safety, and equity concerns. Standardizing qualitative analysis methods can provide research transparency around equity initiatives and ensure resources are allocated more effectively.