New Index Names Wisconsin The Worst U.S. State For Black Americans

The Wall St. Index defined Hawaii as the best state for Black Americans to live in.

The 24/7 Wall St. has created an index using data from the U.S. Census Bureau to measure socioeconomic disparities between Black and white Americans. They’ve identified the worst U.S. states for Black Americans to live in.

24/7 Wall St. reports, “To determine the worst states for Black Americans, 24/7 Wall St. created an index of eight measures to assess race-based gaps in socioeconomic outcomes. Six of the measures—median household income, poverty, adult high school and bachelor’s degree attainment, homeownership, and unemployment rates—are based on five-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 American Community.”

However, the seventh measure in the index focuses on prisoners of state and federal facilities adjusted by race, and the eighth is an age-adjusted mortality rate by race. For each measure, “we constructed an index from the gaps between Black and white Americans.”

In Wisconsin, the median household income for Black individuals is only 51.1% of that for white individuals, marking the widest income gap among all states. The unemployment rate for Blacks, who make up just 6.1% of the population, is 8.3%, compared to 3.0% for white residents.

Of all the U.S. states, 24/7 Wall St. found Hawaii has the smallest disparity in the eight key socioeconomic indicators identified between residents. Hawaii is also the only state in which the Black poverty rate is below the white rate.

At No. 48 sits Texas. “Segregation in Texas in the latter part of the 19th century and into the 20th century has shaped much of the racial inequality evident in the state today. Historically, Black schools in the state often had lower funding.”

Labor unions in Texas have unequal membership among workers, and the homeownership rate is highly unequal within the state between white and Black families.

“Earnings among Black Texas residents also remains well below white earnings. Most Black households in the state earn less than $47,000 a year, while most white households earn over $64,810.”

The top three worst states for Black Americans are Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. These states are highly segregated, with deeply embedded racial disparities in access and services. In addition to racial zoning and redlining, Black residents in these states are more likely to be incarcerated in comparison to their white counterparts and have extremely high unemployment rates for Black Americans.