WalletHub, a personal finance company, released a new report examining which U.S. States have made the most progress in closing racial disparities in employment and income, education, social and civic engagement, and health between Black and White Americans.
According to WalletHub’s research, Georgia has made the most progress in closing Black-White disparities over the past five decades. Since 1979, the state has reduced the earnings gap between White and Black Americans by more than 32 percentage points. This is the largest reduction in earning disparities among all states. Additionally, Georgia has shrunk the disparity between the share of White and Black residents who have earned a high school diploma by over 23 percentage points since 1970. Furthermore, the state ranks first for progress in business ownership rate and ranks fourth for improving the number of Black residents in executive positions.
Mississippi ranks second on WalletHub’s overall ranking of racial progress, largely due to shrinking disparities in its poverty rate, which has reduced by 27 percentage points since 1970 – the most significant reduction among all states. Mississippi has also made significant progress in increasing Black residents’ voter participation, as well as overall health and health insurance coverage.
In third place on WalletHub’s list is Texas, where there has been major progress in Black residents’ health outcomes and employment. The state has reduced the Black-White gap in health insurance coverage by 12.1 percentage points since 1995. Texas has done more than any U.S. state to decrease its share of Black residents suffering from poor health, and has made significant reductions in the number of Black Texans with diabetes and obesity. Additionally, Texas has made significant progress in Black residents’ business ownership rate and reduced disparities in the parole system.
