5 Worst States for Black Americans


5. Pennsylvania

  • Percentage of black residents: 11.0%
  • Black homeownership rate: 43.1% (14th highest)
  • Black incarceration rate: 3,269 per 100,000 people (10th highest)
  • Black unemployment rate: 14.4% (15th highest)
  • Unemployment rate, all people: 7.5% (20th highest)

Twenty-eight percent of the black population was without health insurance last year, compared to only 8.5% of the white population. African-American children also faced larger obstacles to opportunities than their white peers. The gaps in educational outcome may potentially be attributed to geographical segregation, as several cities—including Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Harrisburg—were identified among the nation’s 20 most racially-segregated cities. Black residents were almost nine times as likely than white residents to go to prison, a larger incarceration rate gap than most states.


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