Current trends show that a wide financial gulf continues to divide racial groups in the U.S., with Hispanic and black Americans still at the bottom of the economic ladder, according to recent data released by Wallet Hub.
A December 2014 Pew Research Center report found, the current gap between blacks and whites at its highest point since 1989, with whites having 17 times the wealth of black households. The current white-to-Hispanic wealth ratio has reached a peak not seen since 2001.
Florida leads the nation in financial inequality among all racial groups, with West Virginia and Vermont occupying second and third place, respectively, according to Wallet Hub.
Wallet Hub analyzed each state across 21 key metrics, including the median household income gap, poverty rate gap and the unemployment rate gap.
See Wallet Hub’s table of rankings, by state, below:
|
Overall Rank |
State |
Highest Median Household Income Gap |
Highest Homeownership Rate Gap |
Highest Poverty Rate Gap* |
Highest Educational Attainment Gap** |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florida | 31.77% (blacks) |
34.43% (blacks) |
102.82% (blacks) |
39.11% (blacks) |
| 2 | West Virginia | 35.56% (blacks) |
41.88% (blacks) |
98.27% (blacks) |
23.63% (blacks) |
| 3 | Vermont | 12.99% (hispanics) |
75.78% (blacks) |
121.24% (blacks) |
13.55% (blacks) |
| 4 | Alaska | 33.01% (blacks) |
53.00% (blacks) |
85.07% (blacks) |
45.95% (blacks) |
| 5 | Hawaii | 17.82% (hispanics) |
54.24% (blacks) |
59.09% (hispanics) |
54.47% (hispanics) |
| T-6 | Kentucky | 35.26% (blacks) |
46.77% (blacks) |
89.53% (hispanics) |
31.65% (blacks) |
| T-6 | New Mexico | 33.81% (hispanics) |
31.42% (blacks) |
119.83% (hispanics) |
61.00% (hispanics) |
| 8 | New Hampshire | 26.97% (hispanics) |
42.06% (hispanics) |
144.19% (blacks) |
37.30% (hispanics) |
| 9 | Montana | 43.56% (blacks) |
59.09% (blacks) |
103.73% (hispanics) |
50.85% (hispanics) |
| 10 | Missouri | 37.24% (blacks) |
43.64% (blacks) |
122.22% (blacks) |
43.07% (blacks) |
| T-11 | Maryland | 29.68% (blacks) |
35.96% (hispanics) |
118.31% (blacks) |
49.81% (hispanics) |
| T-11 | Virginia | 36.28% (blacks) |
39.53% (hispanics) |
117.20% (blacks) |
43.78% (hispanics) |
| 13 | Idaho | 24.75% (hispanics) |
49.96% (blacks) |
99.28% (hispanics) |
62.62% (hispanics) |
| T-14 | Delaware | 29.77% (hispanics) |
39.02% (hispanics) |
193.98% (hispanics) |
51.98% (hispanics) |
| T-14 | Nevada | 30.31% (blacks) |
47.10% (blacks) |
112.61% (hispanics) |
67.81% (hispanics) |
| 16 | Michigan | 44.84% (blacks) |
43.43% (blacks) |
161.31% (blacks) |
42.92% (hispanics) |
| 17 | Colorado | 35.91% (hispanics) |
40.02% (blacks) |
157.45% (hispanics) |
70.96% (hispanics) |
| 18 | Ohio | 46.65% (blacks) |
48.41% (blacks) |
164.12% (blacks) |
40.81% (blacks) |
| 19 | Mississippi | 46.63% (blacks) |
40.81% (hispanics) |
152.74% (blacks) |
45.85% (hispanics) |
| 20 | Oklahoma | 38.52% (blacks) |
40.48% (blacks) |
118.31% (blacks) |
65.19% (hispanics) |
| T-21 | California | 34.93% (hispanics) |
40.92% (blacks) |
124.76% (hispanics) |
72.40% (hispanics) |
| T-21 | Louisiana | 49.33% (blacks) |
40.00% (hispanics) |
163.28% (blacks) |
45.13% (blacks) |
| 23 | Oregon | 36.15% (blacks) |
48.53% (blacks) |
116.77% (blacks) |
58.63% (hispanics) |
| T-24 | Maine | 48.69% (blacks) |
66.49% (blacks) |
251.85% (blacks) |
15.13% (blacks) |
| T-24 | Pennsylvania | 42.37% (blacks) |
43.96% (hispanics) |
237.37% (hispanics) |
49.46% (hispanics) |
| 26 | Wyoming | 45.54% (asians) |
55.31% (blacks) |
138.53% (blacks) |
62.59% (hispanics) |
| T-27 | Indiana | 41.95% (blacks) |
48.59% (blacks) |
155.73% (blacks) |
54.24% (hispanics) |
| T-27 | South Carolina | 43.21% (blacks) |
42.91% (hispanics) |
140.94% (hispanics) |
55.58% (hispanics) |
| 29 | Texas | 37.74% (hispanics) |
36.09% (blacks) |
178.95% (hispanics) |
65.18% (hispanics) |
| T-30 | Alabama | 42.37% (blacks) |
38.45% (hispanics) |
149.23% (hispanics) |
48.13% (hispanics) |
| T-30 | Arizona | 31.43% (hispanics) |
49.52% (blacks) |
150.86% (hispanics) |
69.23% (hispanics) |
| 32 | Washington | 33.07% (blacks) |
53.38% (blacks) |
150.93% (hispanics) |
58.96% (hispanics) |
| T-33 | Arkansas | 41.82% (blacks) |
36.88% (blacks) |
119.08% (hispanics) |
65.73% (hispanics) |
| T-33 | Tennessee | 33.02% (blacks) |
47.66% (hispanics) |
140.56% (hispanics) |
51.98% (hispanics) |
| T-33 | Utah | 36.39% (blacks) |
51.71% (blacks) |
173.74% (hispanics) |
62.91% (hispanics) |
| 36 | New York | 40.36% (hispanics) |
63.94% (hispanics) |
163.37% (hispanics) |
57.18% (hispanics) |
| 37 | New Jersey | 40.37% (blacks) |
53.80% (hispanics) |
230.65% (hispanics) |
58.24% (hispanics) |
| 38 | North Dakota | 46.59% (blacks) |
77.84% (blacks) |
328.72% (blacks) |
35.22% (hispanics) |
| 39 | North Carolina | 37.41% (blacks) |
42.05% (hispanics) |
177.05% (hispanics) |
60.15% (hispanics) |
| 40 | Georgia | 35.72% (hispanics) |
42.34% (hispanics) |
158.06% (hispanics) |
60.60% (hispanics) |
| 41 | Kansas | 38.21% (blacks) |
44.92% (blacks) |
148.15% (hispanics) |
65.43% (hispanics) |
| 42 | South Dakota | 37.58% (blacks) |
67.17% (blacks) |
221.00% (blacks) |
58.45% (hispanics) |
| 43 | Massachusetts | 51.76% (hispanics) |
64.18% (hispanics) |
272.84% (hispanics) |
58.12% (hispanics) |
| 44 | Illinois | 45.95% (blacks) |
46.15% (blacks) |
188.99% (blacks) |
64.99% (hispanics) |
| 45 | District of Columbia | 64.71% (blacks) |
38.44% (hispanics) |
232.53% (blacks) |
72.76% (blacks) |
| 46 | Connecticut | 51.78% (hispanics) |
56.67% (hispanics) |
340.98% (hispanics) |
65.11% (hispanics) |
| 47 | Iowa | 47.95% (blacks) |
59.97% (blacks) |
231.58% (blacks) |
56.26% (hispanics) |
| 48 | Wisconsin | 51.00% (blacks) |
60.54% (blacks) |
259.81% (blacks) |
61.39% (hispanics) |
| 49 | Nebraska | 46.05% (blacks) |
52.90% (blacks) |
190.18% (blacks) |
69.18% (hispanics) |
| 50 | Rhode Island | 51.58% (hispanics) |
60.55% (hispanics) |
284.95% (hispanics) |
65.34% (hispanics) |
| 51 | Minnesota | 51.06% (blacks) |
68.28% (blacks) |
296.67% (blacks) |
50.98% (hispanics) |
*Note: The Highest Poverty Rate Gap category describes the poverty rate of a certain ethnicity in relation to that of whites. For reference, 100% would mean twice the poverty rate of whites.
**Note: The Educational Attainment Gap refers to Bachelor’s Degree or Higher.
