CLARKSBURG, W.Va. – A recent study from WalletHub has found that West Virginia has the lowest racial/ethnic wealth gap in the nation.
“Some key factors driving the racial wealth gap include unequal access to higher education and employment for minorities, as well as residential segregation that still persists,” WalletHub said.
To secure their findings, WalletHub analyzed each state across 21 key metrics involving financial inequality among racial groups.
They found that West Virginia possessed the smallest wealth gap between racial/ethnic groups in the U.S., but the gaps that do exist are greatest among black Americans. In contrast, the District of Columbia (D.C.) was shown to have the biggest wealth gap, though they had a lower homeownership rate gap than West Virginia.
| Overall Rank* | State | Total Score | Biggest Median Household Income Gap (most disadvantaged group) | Biggest Homeownership Rate Gap (most disadvantaged group) | Biggest Poverty Rate Gap** (most disadvantaged group) | Biggest Educational Attainment Gap*** (most disadvantaged group) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 75.49 | 66.49% (Black People) | 33.92% (Hispanics) | 303.33% (Black People) | 63.69% (Black People) |
| 2 | Wisconsin | 68.70 | 50.27% (Black People) | 66.54% (Black People) | 249.43% (Black People) | 51.27% (Black People) |
| 3 | Minnesota | 63.63 | 46.60% (Black People) | 66.73% (Black People) | 271.83% (Black People) | 45.31% (Hispanics) |
| 49 | Alaska | 22.78 | 25.21% (Black People) | 45.33% (Black People) | 54.17% (Black People) | 44.24% (Hispanics) |
| 50 | Hawaii | 21.99 | 12.65% (Black People) | 57.62% (Black People) | 32.97% (Hispanics) | 47.27% (Hispanics) |
| 51 | West Virginia | 21.39 | 32.60% (Black People) | 42.67% (Black People) | 75.76% (Black People) | 36.28% (Black People) |
*No. 1 = Biggest Wealth Gaps
**The “Biggest Poverty Rate Gap” category describes the poverty rate of a certain ethnicity in relation to that of white people. For example, 100% would mean twice the poverty rate of white people.
***The “Educational Attainment Gap” category in this table refers to Bachelor’s Degree or Higher.
In the study, white people were used as the benchmark “with which to measure the gap with minority, nonwhite populations, including black people, Hispanics and Asians,” WalletHub said. Then, the biggest gap between racial groups was chosen for each metric.
- Median Household Income Gap (Black People vs. White People): Full Weight (~4.76 Points)
- Median Household Income Gap (Hispanics vs. White People): Full Weight (~4.76 Points)
- Median Household Income Gap (Asians vs. White People): Full Weight (~4.76 Points)
- Homeownership Rate Gap (Black People vs. White People): Full Weight (~4.76 Points)
- Homeownership Rate Gap (Hispanics vs. White People): Full Weight (~4.76 Points)
- Homeownership Rate Gap (Asians vs. White People): Full Weight (~4.76 Points)
- Unemployment Rate Gap (Black People vs. White People): Full Weight (~4.76 Points)
- Unemployment Rate Gap (Hispanics vs. White People): Full Weight (~4.76 Points)
- Unemployment Rate Gap (Asians vs. White People): Full Weight (~4.76 Points)
- Poverty Rate Gap (Black People vs. White People): Full Weight (~4.76 Points)
- Poverty Rate Gap (Hispanics vs. White People): Full Weight (~4.76 Points)
- Poverty Rate Gap (Asians vs. White People): Full Weight (~4.76 Points)
- Educational Attainment Gap Among People with At Least a High School Diploma (Black People vs. White People): Full Weight (~4.76 Points)
- Educational Attainment Gap Among People with At Least a High School Diploma (Hispanics vs. White People): Full Weight (~4.76 Points)
- Educational Attainment Gap Among People with At Least a High School Diploma (Asians vs. White People): Full Weight (~4.76 Points)
- Educational Attainment Gap Among People with a Bachelor’s Degree or Higher (Black People vs. White People): Full Weight (~4.76 Points)
- Educational Attainment Gap Among People with a Bachelor’s Degree or Higher (Hispanics vs. White People): Full Weight (~4.76 Points)
- Educational Attainment Gap Among People with a Bachelor’s Degree or Higher (Asians vs. White People): Full Weight (~4.76 Points)
- Uninsured Rate Gap (Black People vs. White People): Full Weight (~4.76 Points)
- Uninsured Rate Gap (Hispanics vs. White People): Full Weight (~4.76 Points)
- Uninsured Rate Gap (Asians vs. White People): Full Weight (~4.76 Points)
