According to the United States Census Bureau’s Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), households with a White householder where 10 times more wealthy than households with a Black householder in 2021. The survey authors define a householder as someone whose name appears on a home deed or lease, and define wealth as the value of a household’s assets minus the value of its debts.
They survey found that while White householders represent 65.3 percent of United States households, they held 80 percent of all wealth with a median asset level of $250,400. In comparison, Black householders represent 13.6 percent of all households, but only 4.7 percent of all wealth with an average wealth of $24,520. Additionally, roughly 20 percent of all White householders had wealth over $1 million, compared to just over 5 percent of all Black households. Furthermore, Black householders were significantly more likely than White households to have zero or negative wealth.
When examining the kinds of debt and assets held by American householders, the survey showed White households were more likely than Black households to be homeowners or have wealth-building assets, such as retirement accounts or stock funds. Black households were found to have the largest share of “unsecured debt,” such as student loans or medical debt.
A breakdown of the 2021 SIPP report can be found here. Previous SIPP publications and information can be found here.
