The unemployment rate for black Americans fell below 6 percent for the first time in history earlier this year. The historic dip in joblessness was a benchmark of progress in the continued pursuit of racial equality in the United States — and a reminder of the unique challenges black Americans face every day.
The black unemployment rate has hovered above the overall unemployment rate by several percentage points since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking it over 40 years ago. Racial disparities in America do not stop with the labor market.
The median annual income among black households in the United States is just $36,651, about $24,000 shy of the median income among white households. Black Americans are also less likely to own a home, less likely to have a college education, and five times more likely to be incarcerated than white Americans.
Click here to see the worst cities for black Americans.
Disparities in socioeconomic measures exist to some degree nationwide. However, in certain cities, gaps in outcomes along racial lines are chasmic. 24/7 Wall St. created an index based on racial disparities in eight socioeconomic measures in U.S. metro areas to identify the worst cities for black Americans.
In an interview with 24/7 Wall St., Camille M. Busette, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, laid out some of the causal factors behind these disparities in the cities on this list. “Looking historically, these are cities where there is a tremendous amount of residential segregation,” Busette said.
The cities on this list are largely concentrated in the Midwest and have long histories of systemic racial segregation. Though about half a century has passed since the Fair Housing Act legally banned discriminatory lending, zoning, and renting practices, such practices persist in much of the country in less overt ways.
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