5 Worst States for Black Americans


2. Minnesota

  • Percentage of black residents: 5.4%
  • Black homeownership rate: 25.7% (5th lowest)
  • Black incarceration rate: 2,321 per 100,000 people (22nd lowest)
  • Black unemployment rate: 15.0% (tied-11th lowest)
  • Unemployment rate, all people: 4.9% (9th lowest)

Black households in Minnesota earned less than half the median income of white households in 2013, ranking even lower than the 62.3% nationwide. The high unemployment rate is likely the blame for the low incomes among the black population. Fifteen percent of the 5% of unemployed workers in 2013 were black, creating a gap nearly twice that of the the national gap. Only 6.9% of white residents did not have health insurance in 2013, compared to nearly 33% of blacks. Black Minnesotan households were three times less likely than white households to own their homes, about twice as high as the rest of the nation. Across the country, black Americans were also more likely to be disenfranchised due to the criminal justice system. More than 7% of Minnesota’s black population was denied the right to vote because of felony convictions or imprisonment.


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