Adam McCann, Financial Writer

Jan 14, 2020

In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. introduced the world to his dream of a colorblind society — one that focuses on character, not on complexion. America has certainly come closer to realizing Dr. King’s vision. But segregation and discrimination continue to persist.

Race relations have been in a rough patch recently. According to a 2019 survey by the Pew Research Center, 45 percent of Americans say the U.S. hasn’t done enough to give black Americans equal rights to white Americans. In addition, 58 percent of Americans think race relations are “generally bad” and 53 percent think they are getting worse.

As we think about future improvement, it’s important to recognize the racial harmony we’ve achieved — in our workplaces, in our schools and in our voting booths. To that end, WalletHub measured the gaps between blacks and whites across 21 key indicators of equality and integration in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Our data set ranges from median annual income to standardized-test scores to voter turnout. Read on for our findings, additional insight from our panel of experts and a full description of our methodology.

Racial Integration Ranking

This ranking measures the current integration levels of whites and blacks. We also have constructed a separate ranking of the states’ racial progress levels achieved over time.

States with the Most Racial Integration

Overall Rank* State Total Score ‘Employment & Wealth’ Rank ‘Education’ Rank ‘Social & Civic Engagement’ Rank ‘Health’ Rank 1 New Mexico 75.62 1 4 2 33 2 Hawaii 75.12 2 12 1 25 3 Wyoming 74.78 8 1 3 47 4 Texas 74.51 4 5 15 7 5 West Virginia 73.98 15 2 16 2 6 Arizona 73.03 3 8 17 13 7 Kentucky 72.28 12 6 12 9 8 Montana 70.21 14 7 5 38 9 Maryland 70.19 6 23 10 19 10 Colorado 70.18 9 31 6 16 11 Delaware 69.22 7 11 20 26 12 Tennessee 68.75 16 9 31 14 13 Virginia 68.67 13 24 7 27 14 Georgia 68.58 17 10 14 22 15 Alaska 67.93 5 13 4 50 16 Washington 67.34 10 14 40 12 17 North Carolina 66.96 18 21 9 30 18 Massachusetts 66.58 23 36 27 3 19 Idaho 66.13 31 3 22 5 20 Florida 65.64 11 27 37 17 21 Utah 64.30 27 25 11 29 22 Nevada 63.97 25 16 13 40 23 Oklahoma 63.79 24 44 8 23 24 Rhode Island 63.14 19 41 35 8 25 New Jersey 63.01 34 28 24 18 26 New Hampshire 62.89 28 15 28 44 27 California 62.86 26 20 30 31 28 Vermont 62.41 20 22 47 1 29 Alabama 62.36 29 26 21 39 30 South Carolina 62.17 21 39 19 35 31 Indiana 61.52 39 17 26 20 32 Arkansas 61.39 30 35 43 11 33 Missouri 61.34 33 18 29 43 34 Oregon 61.03 22 19 50 10 35 New York 60.17 36 40 32 15 36 Ohio 58.68 44 30 23 24 37 Mississippi 58.66 37 33 33 28 38 Kansas 58.44 32 29 38 49 39 Connecticut 57.10 35 42 41 34 40 Maine 56.70 43 46 18 21 41 Louisiana 54.52 40 43 34 46 42 Nebraska 53.74 38 47 25 48 43 Michigan 53.19 46 37 36 42 44 Pennsylvania 52.50 41 34 46 41 45 Minnesota 51.78 49 48 42 6 46 North Dakota 51.57 45 32 44 37 47 Illinois 50.65 47 38 39 45 48 South Dakota 49.26 42 50 48 4 49 Iowa 46.30 48 45 49 36 50 Wisconsin 37.17 50 49 51 32 51 District of Columbia 23.64 51 51 45 51

*No. 1 = Most Integrated



Racial Progress Ranking

This ranking measures the levels of racial progress achieved over time. We also have constructed a separate ranking of the states’ current racial integration levels.

States with the Most Racial Progress

Overall Rank* State Total Score ‘Employment & Wealth’ Rank ‘Education’ Rank ‘Social & Civic Engagement’ Rank ‘Health’ Rank 1 Wyoming 77.59 3 1 1 N/A 2 Texas 68.43 13 5 7 4 3 Mississippi 65.55 1 16 28 6 4 Georgia 64.56 2 20 8 30 5 New Jersey 63.78 8 10 16 11 6 New Mexico 63.34 17 6 6 46 7 Florida 63.11 14 2 24 13 8 North Carolina 62.69 5 17 21 8 9 South Carolina 61.71 4 31 11 29 10 Idaho 61.41 29 4 2 3 11 Maryland 61.17 9 29 10 16 12 Alabama 60.05 6 34 19 21 13 Massachusetts 59.60 15 41 5 34 14 Delaware 59.53 10 15 20 37 15 Connecticut 59.21 7 36 29 14 16 Arkansas 58.95 12 39 22 10 17 Virginia 58.44 20 30 18 18 18 Utah 58.34 28 8 4 43 19 Tennessee 58.00 19 23 40 7 20 Louisiana 57.94 11 35 27 19 21 California 57.62 23 3 44 25 22 Oregon 57.58 39 7 3 5 23 Rhode Island 56.79 18 26 36 35 24 Arizona 56.46 24 14 25 39 25 Oklahoma 56.04 25 18 14 27 26 New York 55.63 22 42 12 20 27 Montana 53.18 34 24 13 N/A 28 Hawaii 52.97 21 45 26 42 29 Illinois 52.68 26 33 34 17 30 Kansas 52.55 32 19 17 38 31 Kentucky 52.54 33 38 15 28 32 Washington 52.22 31 11 33 26 33 Missouri 50.42 27 25 35 40 34 Alaska 50.15 35 13 32 41 35 Michigan 50.11 44 9 39 22 36 West Virginia 49.75 38 22 45 12 37 Pennsylvania 49.41 36 27 47 15 38 New Hampshire 48.63 41 49 23 2 39 Colorado 48.26 30 47 38 23 40 North Dakota 47.70 16 50 51 1 41 Ohio 47.55 42 37 42 31 42 Nevada 46.68 43 12 9 44 43 Indiana 46.32 45 28 41 32 44 Wisconsin 45.97 47 43 37 9 45 Minnesota 43.71 49 21 46 24 46 District of Columbia 43.12 50 32 30 33 47 Nebraska 42.56 40 40 43 45 48 Vermont 41.01 48 46 31 N/A 49 Maine 39.44 46 48 48 N/A 50 South Dakota 38.25 37 51 50 47 51 Iowa 35.87 51 44 49 36

*No. 1 = Most Racial Progress Achieved

Ask the Experts

The harsh realities of racial segregation and discrimination are no longer as visible in America as they once were — but they persist. In order to understand the driving forces behind such problems and possible solutions, we asked a panel of experts to share their thoughts and ideas. Click on the experts’ profiles to read their bios and responses to the following key questions:

What are the major causes of the racial wealth gap between black and white households? What can state and local authorities do to help reduce racial gaps in wealth, employment and education? What policies have proven effective in reducing racial disparities in the criminal justice system? Should state and local authorities work to reduce racial segregation in housing? If so, how? Why have some states been more successful than others in addressing racial inequalities?

Methodology

In order to determine the most racially integrated states and those that have achieved the most racial progress over time, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across four key dimensions: 1) Employment & Wealth, 2) Education 3) Social & Civic Engagement and 4) Health.

We evaluated those dimensions using 21 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the highest level of racial integration and progress.

This analysis compares only blacks and whites in light of racial tensions in recent years that sparked the Black Lives Matter movement. We released this report to coincide with the holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who played a prominent role in the Civil Rights Movement to end segregation and discrimination against blacks.

We ranked the states and the District of Columbia based on two key measures:

Racial Integration – Determined by subtracting the values attributed to whites and blacks for a given metric, using only the most recent available data. Racial Progress – Determined by subtracting the values attributed to whites and blacks for a given metric, using the oldest available data and the most recent. Based on the result, we calculated the percentage of progress for that specific metric in the analyzed period.

If in some states blacks scored as high as or better than whites on a given metric, all such states were awarded the maximum number of points.

Finally, we determined each state and the District’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its total score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.

Employment & Wealth – Total Points: 40

Median Annual Household Income: Full Weight (~6.67 Points)

Labor-Force Participation Rate: Full Weight (~6.67 Points)

Unemployment Rate: Full Weight (~6.67 Points)

Homeownership Rate: Full Weight (~6.67 Points)

Note: We are using homeownership as a proxy for wealth.

Poverty Rate: Full Weight (~6.67 Points)

Share of Executives: Full Weight (~6.67 Points)

Education – Total Points: 20

Share of Adults with at Least a High School Degree: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)

Note: “Adults” include the population aged 25 years and older.

Share of Adults with at Least a Bachelor’s Degree: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)

Note: “Adults” include the population aged 25 years and older.

Standardized-Test Scores: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)

Note: This metric is based on the results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

Public High School Dropout Rate: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)

Social & Civic Engagement – Total Points: 20

Share of Single-Parent Households: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)

Share of Adult Population on Parole: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)

Share of Veterans: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)

Voter-Turnout Rate: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)

Note: This metric measures the rates for presidential elections.

Health – Total Points: 20

Share of Adults in Poor or Fair Health: Full Weight (~2.86 Points)

Share of Insured Adults: Full Weight (~2.86 Points)

Share of Obese Adults: Full Weight (~2.86 Points)

Share of Diabetic Adults: Full Weight (~2.86 Points)

Share of Preterm Births: Full Weight (~2.86 Points)

Share of Live Births with Low Birthweight: Full Weight (~2.86 Points)

Note: “Low Birthweight” refers to less than 2,500 grams.

Infant-Mortality Rate: Full Weight (~2.86 Points)

Note: This metric measures the number of deaths of infants younger than one year per 1,000 live births.



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Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Bureau of Justice Statistics, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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