With Martin Luther King Jr. Day around the corner and 58 percent of Americans saying increased diversity makes the U.S. a better place – while only 9 percent say it makes the U.S. worse – the personal-finance website WalletHub has released its report on 2019’s States with the Most Racial Progress.
To measure America’s progress in harmonizing racial groups, WalletHub measured the gaps between black and white citizens across 22 key indicators of equality and integration in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
The data sets range from median annual income to standardized test scores to voter turnout.
The report examined only the differences between black and white citizens in light of the recent Black Lives Matter movement and the upcoming holiday honoring Dr. King.
New Mexico was rated first overall due to the following individual rankings:
• 1st in gap in percentage of adults with at least a high-school diploma.
• 1st in gap in percentage of adults with at least a bachelor’s degree.
• 2nd in median annual income gap.
• 3rd in poverty rate gap.
• 5th in unemployment rate gap.
• 6th in standardized test scores gap.
• 12th in homeownership rate gap.
• 16th in labor force participation rate gap.
Joining New Mexico in the top five were West Virginia, Hawaii, Kentucky and Texas. Comprising the bottom five were the District of Columbia, Wisconsin, Maine, Iowa and Minnesota.
The full report can be viewed online at wallethub.com/edu/states-with-the-most-and-least-racial-progress/18428.
