Our nation still has a long way to go in a quest for economic and racial justice: Social and economic circumstances of African American and white families, c. 1968 and c. 2018
c. 1968 | c. 2018 (most recent available data) | Change | |
---|---|---|---|
High school graduate rate, adults ages 25–29 (%) | |||
Black | 54.4% | 92.3% | 37.9 ppt. |
White | 75.0% | 95.6% | 20.6 ppt. |
Gap (black as % of white) | 72.6% | 96.5% | |
College graduate rate, adults ages 25–29 (%) | |||
Black | 9.1% | 22.8% | 13.7 ppt. |
White | 16.2% | 42.1% | 25.9 ppt. |
Gap (black as % of white) | 56.0% | 54.2% | |
Unemployment rate (%) | |||
Black | 6.7% | 7.5% | 0.8 ppt. |
White | 3.2% | 3.8% | 0.6 ppt. |
Gap (ratio black to white) | 2.1 | 2.0 | |
Median hourly wage (2016$) | |||
Black | $12.16 | $15.87 | 30.5% |
White | $17.06 | $19.23 | 12.7% |
Gap (black as % of white) | 71.3% | 82.5% | |
Median household income (2016$) | |||
Black | $28,066 | $40,065 | 42.8% |
White | $47,596 | $65,041 | 36.7% |
Gap (black as % of white) | 59.0% | 61.6% | |
Poverty rate (%) | |||
Black | 34.7% | 21.8% | -12.9 ppt. |
White | 10.0% | 8.8% | -1.2 ppt. |
Gap (ratio black to white) | 3.5 | 2.5 | |
Median household wealth (2016$) | |||
Black | $2,467 | $17,409 | 605.7% |
White | $47,655 | $171,000 | 258.8% |
Gap (black as % of white) | 5.2% | 10.2% | |
Homeownership rate (%) | |||
Black | 41.1% | 41.2% | 0.1 ppt. |
White | 65.9% | 71.1% | 5.2 ppt. |
Gap (black as % of white) | 62.4% | 57.9% | |
Infant mortality (per 1,000 births) | |||
Black | 34.9 | 11.4 | -67.4% |
White | 18.8 | 4.9 | -74.0% |
Gap (ratio black to white) | 1.9 | 2.3 | |
Life expectancy at birth (years) | |||
Black | 64.0 yrs. | 75.5 yrs. | 11.5 yrs. |
White | 71.5 yrs. | 79.0 yrs. | 7.5 yrs. |
Gap (black as % of white) | 89.5% | 95.6% | |
Incarcerated population (per 100,000) | |||
Black | 604 | 1,730 | 286.3% |
White | 111 | 270 | 242.7% |
Gap (ratio black to white) | 5.4 | 6.4 |
Source: Adapted from Table 1 in Janelle Jones, John Schmitt, and Valerie Wilson, 50 Years After the Kerner Commission: African Americans Are Better Off in Many Ways but Are Still Disadvantaged by Racial Inequality, Economic Policy Institute, February 2018. Values are for 1968 and 2018 or closest year for which data are available.
Source: Adapted from Table 1 in Janelle Jones, John Schmitt, and Valerie Wilson, 50 Years After the Kerner Commission: African Americans Are Better Off in Many Ways but Are Still Disadvantaged by Racial Inequality, Economic Policy Institute, February 2018. Values are for 1968 and 2018 or closest year for which data are available.
Detailed sources: High school and college graduate rates: National Center for Education Statistics, “Table 104.20. Percentage of Persons 25 to 29 Years Old with Selected Levels of Educational Attainment, by Race/Ethnicity and Sex: Selected Years, 1920 through 2017,” 2017 Tables and Figures, accessed February 4, 2018, at nces.ed.gov/programs/digest. Unemployment rates: 1968 data are from the Council of Economic Advisers, “Table B-43. Civilian Unemployment Rate by Demographic Characteristic, 1968–2009,” in Economic Report of the President 2010 (U.S. Government Printing Office), accessed February 4, 2018, at www.gpo.gov/fdsys. For 2018 (2017 data), we use Bureau of Labor Statistics data, data tools, www.bls.gov/data/#unemployment, series ID LNU04000003 and LNU04000006, accessed February 4, 2018. Median hourly wage: EPI analysis of March Current Population Survey data for calendar years 1968 and 2016. For median household income: U.S. Census Bureau, “Table H-5. Race and Hispanic Origin of Householder—Households by Median and Mean Income: 1967 to 2016,” Historical Income Tables, accessed February 4, 2018, at www.census.gov. Poverty rate: U.S. Census Bureau, “Table 2. Poverty Status of People by Family Relationship, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 1959 to 2016,” Historical Poverty Tables, accessed February 4, 2018, at www.census.gov. Median household wealth: Urban Institute analysis of Survey of Consumer Finances data, presented in “Chart 3: Average Family Wealth by Race/Ethnicity, 1963–2016,” in Nine Charts about Wealth Inequality in America, updated October 24, 2017. Homeownership rate: Laurie Goodman, Jun Zhu, and Rolf Pendall, “Are Gains in Black Homeownership History?” and accompanying downloadable spreadsheet, Urban Institute, February 15, 2017. Infant mortality: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Table 11. Infant Mortality Rates, by Race: United States, Selected Years 1950–2015,” Health, United States, 2016—Individual Charts and Tables, accessed February 4, 2018, at www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus. Life expectancy at birth: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Table 15. Life Expectancy at Birth, at Age 65, and at Age 75, by Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin: United States, Selected Years 1900–2015,” Health, United States, 2016—Individual Charts and Tables, accessed February 4, 2018, at www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus. Incarcerated population: Authors’ calculations based on unpublished tabulations by Kris Warner of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, using Bureau of Justice Statistics and U.S. Census Bureau data. Values are for 1968 and 2018 or closest year for which data are available. For high school and college graduate rates, homeownership rate, infant mortality, and life expectancy at birth, the 1968 figure is estimated as 0.2 times the figure for 1960 and 0.8 times the figure for 1970. Recent data for high school and college graduate rates refer to 2016. Recent unemployment rate data refer to 2017. Median hourly wage and median household income data are converted to 2016 dollars using the CPI-U-RS chained to the CPI-U-X1. Data for median hourly wage and median household income refer to 1968 and 2016. Median household wealth data refer to 1963 and 2016. Median household wealth data are converted to 2016 dollars. For homeownership rate, infant mortality, and life expectancy at birth, most recent data refer to 2015. For infant mortality, 1968 data are based on the race of the child; 2015 data are based on the race of the mother.