Republished with permission from WalletHub
In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. introduced the world to his dream of a society that focuses on character, not on complexion. America has certainly come closer to realizing Dr. King’s vision. However, segregation and discrimination continue to persist.
In 2021, conversations on race have remained prevalent, with high-profile police brutality cases going to trial, and protests continuing.
These discussions seem to be making an impact, too – according to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center, 50% of U.S. adults say “a lot” more needs to be done to ensure equal rights for all Americans, and only 15% believe “nothing” needs to be done.
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 black people and white people 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 household income to standardized-test scores to voter turnout.
This ranking measures the current integration levels of white people and black people. We also have constructed a separate ranking of the states’ racial progress levels achieved over time.
Overall Rank |
State |
Total Score |
Employment & Wealth |
Education |
Social & Civic Engagement |
Health |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Arizona | 75.16 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 17 |
2 | Hawaii | 74.48 | 2 | 13 | 1 | 44 |
3 | Texas | 74.08 | 6 | 4 | 18 | 13 |
4 | Montana | 73.95 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 50 |
5 | Maryland | 72.84 | 7 | 21 | 11 | 6 |
6 | New Mexico | 72.80 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 48 |
7 | Wyoming | 72.77 | 15 | 1 | 3 | 51 |
8 | Alaska | 72.46 | 1 | 15 | 6 | 47 |
9 | Washington | 72.43 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 5 |
10 | Georgia | 72.35 | 16 | 12 | 14 | 7 |
11 | Kentucky | 71.44 | 12 | 8 | 19 | 16 |
12 | Delaware | 71.28 | 8 | 11 | 7 | 37 |
13 | Idaho | 69.92 | 25 | 2 | 12 | 8 |
14 | West Virginia | 69.45 | 17 | 6 | 22 | 20 |
15 | Virginia | 69.19 | 10 | 27 | 13 | 23 |
16 | Florida | 69.08 | 9 | 29 | 27 | 10 |
17 | Colorado | 68.06 | 11 | 19 | 23 | 31 |
18 | North Carolina | 68.03 | 18 | 26 | 10 | 26 |
19 | Tennessee | 67.77 | 14 | 18 | 21 | 32 |
20 | Nevada | 67.71 | 24 | 17 | 24 | 9 |
21 | Vermont | 65.86 | 20 | 10 | 40 | 19 |
22 | Rhode Island | 65.80 | 29 | 40 | 35 | 2 |
23 | Oklahoma | 65.54 | 31 | 7 | 20 | 36 |
24 | California | 65.30 | 22 | 22 | 8 | 39 |
25 | Indiana | 64.37 | 40 | 20 | 16 | 15 |
26 | Missouri | 63.88 | 30 | 23 | 29 | 27 |
27 | New Jersey | 62.84 | 32 | 34 | 26 | 24 |
28 | Alabama | 62.72 | 26 | 24 | 30 | 38 |
29 | Kansas | 62.11 | 34 | 31 | 17 | 42 |
30 | Connecticut | 61.80 | 33 | 36 | 31 | 22 |
31 | Utah | 61.68 | 37 | 33 | 9 | 29 |
32 | Arkansas | 61.62 | 27 | 16 | 46 | 18 |
33 | Massachusetts | 61.24 | 23 | 42 | 47 | 3 |
34 | Mississippi | 60.55 | 38 | 25 | 36 | 25 |
35 | Oregon | 60.22 | 19 | 28 | 50 | 12 |
36 | New Hampshire | 59.95 | 28 | 30 | 41 | 46 |
37 | South Carolina | 59.88 | 21 | 44 | 33 | 40 |
38 | New York | 59.74 | 35 | 41 | 37 | 21 |
39 | Maine | 59.73 | 39 | 43 | 28 | 4 |
40 | Ohio | 57.66 | 45 | 37 | 32 | 28 |
41 | North Dakota | 55.99 | 44 | 32 | 43 | 14 |
42 | Michigan | 55.32 | 46 | 39 | 38 | 33 |
43 | Nebraska | 54.91 | 41 | 46 | 25 | 41 |
44 | Pennsylvania | 54.69 | 43 | 35 | 45 | 34 |
45 | Louisiana | 54.18 | 42 | 45 | 39 | 43 |
46 | Illinois | 53.13 | 47 | 38 | 34 | 35 |
47 | South Dakota | 52.00 | 36 | 49 | 48 | 1 |
48 | Minnesota | 49.84 | 49 | 47 | 44 | 11 |
49 | Iowa | 44.68 | 48 | 48 | 49 | 30 |
50 | Wisconsin | 33.01 | 50 | 50 | 51 | 45 |
51 | District of Columbia | 28.36 | 51 | 51 | 42 | 49 |
Note: *No. 1 = Most Integrated
With the exception of “Total Score,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that state, where a rank of 1 represents the best conditions for that metric category.
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.
Overall Rank |
State |
Total Score |
Employment & Wealth |
Education |
Social & Civic Engagement |
Health |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Wyoming | 73.23 | 6 | 1 | 2 | N/A |
2 | Texas | 66.11 | 15 | 4 | 7 | 2 |
3 | Georgia | 65.03 | 2 | 19 | 8 | 11 |
4 | Mississippi | 64.93 | 1 | 12 | 25 | 5 |
5 | Florida | 64.00 | 14 | 2 | 15 | 4 |
6 | Idaho | 62.32 | 25 | 5 | 1 | 3 |
7 | New Mexico | 62.01 | 17 | 6 | 5 | 44 |
8 | Maryland | 61.54 | 13 | 25 | 11 | 8 |
9 | North Carolina | 61.37 | 5 | 17 | 22 | 7 |
10 | New Jersey | 61.25 | 8 | 9 | 14 | 18 |
11 | Connecticut | 60.23 | 7 | 29 | 16 | 9 |
12 | South Carolina | 57.57 | 3 | 32 | 33 | 28 |
13 | Arkansas | 57.55 | 9 | 31 | 32 | 14 |
14 | Delaware | 57.33 | 12 | 16 | 12 | 39 |
15 | Alabama | 56.98 | 4 | 35 | 27 | 25 |
16 | Virginia | 56.98 | 20 | 30 | 20 | 15 |
17 | Oregon | 56.93 | 36 | 7 | 3 | 21 |
18 | Rhode Island | 56.24 | 19 | 26 | 24 | 24 |
19 | California | 56.14 | 23 | 3 | 35 | 35 |
20 | Montana | 55.87 | 28 | 20 | 6 | N/A |
21 | Louisiana | 55.85 | 10 | 36 | 29 | 19 |
22 | Massachusetts | 55.47 | 16 | 42 | 23 | 16 |
23 | Arizona | 55.16 | 24 | 14 | 21 | 40 |
24 | Tennessee | 54.23 | 18 | 34 | 31 | 26 |
25 | New York | 53.73 | 22 | 41 | 13 | 23 |
26 | Utah | 53.05 | 38 | 10 | 4 | 47 |
27 | Washington | 52.63 | 34 | 11 | 17 | 20 |
28 | Illinois | 52.55 | 29 | 33 | 34 | 13 |
29 | Kansas | 51.85 | 35 | 22 | 10 | 34 |
30 | Oklahoma | 51.50 | 30 | 18 | 18 | 37 |
31 | Hawaii | 51.14 | 21 | 43 | 19 | 42 |
32 | Alaska | 50.33 | 26 | 15 | 40 | 43 |
33 | Missouri | 50.12 | 27 | 28 | 36 | 36 |
34 | Michigan | 49.67 | 43 | 8 | 41 | 17 |
35 | Pennsylvania | 49.34 | 37 | 24 | 48 | 12 |
36 | Nevada | 48.81 | 44 | 13 | 9 | 30 |
37 | Kentucky | 48.69 | 32 | 38 | 26 | 29 |
38 | North Dakota | 47.71 | 11 | 50 | 51 | 1 |
39 | Colorado | 47.37 | 33 | 40 | 37 | 38 |
40 | Indiana | 46.45 | 46 | 27 | 38 | 22 |
41 | New Hampshire | 45.00 | 39 | 49 | 30 | 10 |
42 | Ohio | 44.69 | 42 | 37 | 45 | 31 |
43 | Minnesota | 42.88 | 49 | 21 | 42 | 27 |
44 | District of Columbia | 42.75 | 51 | 23 | 28 | 6 |
45 | Maine | 41.98 | 45 | 45 | 47 | N/A |
46 | Nebraska | 41.75 | 40 | 39 | 39 | 45 |
47 | West Virginia | 40.92 | 41 | 46 | 46 | 41 |
48 | South Dakota | 40.47 | 31 | 51 | 50 | 46 |
49 | Wisconsin | 40.26 | 47 | 47 | 43 | 33 |
50 | Vermont | 39.42 | 48 | 44 | 44 | N/A |
51 | Iowa | 33.32 | 50 | 48 | 49 | 32 |
Note: *No. 1 = Most Racial Progress Achieved
With the exception of “Total Score,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that state, where a rank of 1 represents the best conditions for that metric category.
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