By the Numbers: Racial Integration

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream of a colorblind society, WalletHub analysts looked at the state of racial progress in the 50 states. They examined 10 key indicators of such progress, ranging from median annual income to homeownership rates to voter turnout. Here are some of their findings.

13

Percentage of Americans identifying “race relations” as the nation’s most important problem, the highest recorded by Gallup pollsters since May 1992, after deadly riots were triggered when Los Angeles police officers were acquitted of excessive force against Rodney King.

47

Wisconsin’s ranking in racial progress. Only Vermont, Iowa, Minnesota and Maine were ranked worse for racial progress. The top five states for having made racial progress are Georgia, New Mexico, Mississippi, Texas and Maryland.

48

Wisconsin’s ranking for racial integration. Only the District of Columbia and Minnesota ranked lower. Hawaii ranked No. 1 for racial integration, followed by New Mexico, Texas, Maryland and California.

51

Wisconsin’s ranking for Employment and Wealth. Hawaii also ranked No. 1 in this category. Wisconsin also ranked at the bottom for labor-force participations rate, 48th in the nation for unemployment rate and 50th for highest gap in the poverty rate.

Read the full report, including comments from experts on what can be done to reduce racial gaps in education, employment and wealth, at https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-the-most-and-least-racial-progress/18428/.