Racial inequality has been brought into the spotlight in recent years, as protests against police brutality and racism have taken place across the U.S. in response to numerous high-profile cases such as the death of George Floyd. However, it’s not just in policing where discrimination and the battle for racial equality rears its head. A recent study found that only 3.2% of executive or senior-level positions belong to black Americans, even though that demographic makes up 13% of the U.S. population. The overall black unemployment rate is consistently higher than the white unemployment rate, too.

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What’s even more striking than the inequality in employment is the disparity in wealth between white and black Americans. The average white family has a net worth of $171,000, compared to just $17,150 for the average black family. As racial tensions run high in America, it’s an opportune time to take a look at which states have done the most to promote financial equality.

In order to determine which states have the most racial equality in terms of employment and wealth, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across eight key metrics. Our data compares the difference between white and black Americans in areas such as annual income, unemployment rate and homeownership rate.

Main findings

Source: WalletHub

Racial Equality in Arizona’s Economy (1=Most Equality; 25=Avg.):

5th – Median Annual Income

4th – Labor-Force Participation Rate

9th – Unemployment Rate

30th – Homeownership Rate

7th – Poverty Rate

1st – Homeless Rate

1st – Share of Unsheltered Homeless

23rd – Share of Executives

State Economies with the Most Racial Equality

Overall Rank*  State Total Score

 
1 Alaska 85.36
2 New Mexico 81.29
3 Arizona 78.55
4 Hawaii 78.38
5 Texas 76.30
6 Washington 76.17
7 Florida 75.06
8 South Dakota 74.33
9 Kentucky 74.32
10 Colorado 74.21
11 Maryland 72.64
12 Montana 72.52
13 Delaware 72.21
14 Idaho 72.16
15 Virginia 72.09
16 Tennessee 71.87
17 Rhode Island 71.40
18 Oregon 71.25
19 North Carolina 70.63
20 Massachusetts 69.62
21 California 69.48
22 Maine 69.41
23 Missouri 68.80
24 West Virginia 68.79
25 New Hampshire 68.43
26 South Carolina 68.18
27 Georgia 67.85
28 Oklahoma 67.28
29 Nevada 67.05
30 Connecticut 66.85
31 Arkansas 65.75
32 Vermont 65.69
33 Kansas 65.36
34 Alabama 65.33
35 New Jersey 65.21
36 Utah 65.01
37 Wyoming 63.32
38 Indiana 61.36
39 Nebraska 60.87
40 Mississippi 59.95
41 New York 59.71
42 Pennsylvania 59.02
43 Ohio 58.52
44 North Dakota 56.85
45 Louisiana 56.33
46 Michigan 55.68
47 Minnesota 53.87
48 Iowa 51.44
49 Wisconsin 47.46
50 Illinois 46.15
51 District of Columbia 15.25

*No. 1 = Most Equality