4. Illinois
- Percentage of black residents: 14.2%
- Black homeownership rate: 38.5% (25th highest)
- Black incarceration rate: 2,128 per 100,000 people (17th lowest)
- Black unemployment rate: 17.0% (3rd highest)
- Unemployment rate, all people: 9.1% (3rd highest)
There are disproportionate social and health outcomes between black and white residents. In 2013, 17% of black workers faced unemployment, versus 9.1% of the state’s workforce. The incarceration rate for black Americans is 2,128 per 100,000 people—more than eight times that of white residents. Illinois also had one of the largest gaps in death rates between white and black Americans. The death rate for white residents in 2012 was 711.8 per 100,000 people, versus 925.6 deaths per 100,000 black residents. Despite significant improvements in the past 20 years, the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research determined Chicago was among the most segregated cities in the U.S. as of 2010.