Posted by: Adam McCann

In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. introduced the world to his dream of a colorblind society — one that focuses on character, not on complexion. America has certainly come closer to realizing Dr. King’s vision. But segregation and discrimination continue to persist.

Views on systemic racism also differ sharply across racial lines. According to a survey by the Pew Research Center, 92 percent of blacks said that “whites benefit a great deal or a fair amount from advantages that blacks do not have.” In contrast, only 46 percent of whites agreed with that statement. However, most Americans have positive views on diversity in general. Another Pew Research survey found that 58 percent of Americans think increasing diversity makes the U.S. a better place, while only 9 percent say it makes the U.S. a worse place. 31 percent think it makes no difference.

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 blacks and whites across 22 key indicators of equality and integration in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Our data set ranges from median annual income to standardized-test scores to voter turnout. Read on for our findings, additional insight from our panel of experts and a full description of our methodology.

1. Racial Integration Ranking
2. Racial Progress Ranking
3. Ask the Experts
4. Methodology

Racial Integration Ranking

This ranking measures the current integration levels of whites and blacks. We also have constructed a separate ranking of the states’ racial progress levels achieved over time.

Embed on your website<iframe src="//d2e70e9yced57e.cloudfront.net/wallethub/embed/18428/geochart-racial1.html" width="556" height="347" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe> <div style="width:556px;font-size:12px;color:#888;">Source: <a href="http://bit.ly/2Cmi14J>  

States with the Most Racial Integration

Overall Rank*	State	Total Score	‘Employment & Wealth’ Rank	‘Education’ Rank	‘Social & Civic Engagement’ Rank	‘Health’ Rank
1	New Mexico	78.71	1	3	3	24
2	West Virginia	76.48	13	2	13	2
3	Hawaii	75.08	2	7	1	49
4	Kentucky	74.86	8	5	12	9
5	Texas	73.60	5	4	15	22
6	Wyoming	72.87	16	1	2	50
7	Delaware	72.19	3	9	19	13
8	Arizona	72.12	4	13	16	14
9	Maryland	71.25	6	16	10	17
10	Georgia	70.66	15	12	14	10
11	Washington	69.64	11	10	37	5
12	Colorado	69.37	9	35	5	11
13	Oklahoma	68.64	24	17	7	12
14	Idaho	68.18	28	8	18	1
15	North Carolina	67.40	17	18	9	36
16	Virginia	66.82	14	33	6	39
17	Tennessee	66.73	10	19	29	25
18	Alaska	66.60	7	20	4	48
19	Montana	66.24	27	14	8	47
20	New Hampshire	66.02	21	6	22	43
21	Nevada	65.87	20	23	17	19
22	Utah	64.92	23	24	11	41
23	Florida	64.42	12	31	40	16
24	South Carolina	63.98	19	28	20	34
25	Massachusetts	63.83	22	39	30	6
26	Alabama	63.72	26	22	23	32
27	California	63.64	29	21	27	27
28	Indiana	62.58	39	11	25	23
29	Rhode Island	62.55	25	38	42	4
30	New Jersey	62.26	35	30	24	20
31	Vermont	61.77	18	25	43	N/A
32	Oregon	61.65	31	26	50	3
33	Arkansas	60.44	32	29	44	15
34	Missouri	59.83	30	36	28	37
35	Mississippi	59.12	38	27	39	29
36	Kansas	59.02	33	34	34	40
37	New York	58.76	36	40	32	18
38	Ohio	57.31	43	37	21	31
39	Connecticut	57.02	34	41	41	26
40	North Dakota	55.82	45	15	36	38
41	Louisiana	55.50	40	42	33	33
42	Pennsylvania	54.33	42	32	47	28
43	Nebraska	52.94	41	45	26	44
44	South Dakota	51.94	37	47	48	8
45	Illinois	50.48	47	44	35	30
46	Michigan	50.20	44	46	38	42
47	Minnesota	49.64	48	48	46	7
48	Iowa	47.03	46	49	49	21
49	Maine	46.50	49	43	31	35
50	Wisconsin	33.27	50	50	51	46
51	District of Columbia	29.35	51	51	45	45

*No. 1 = Most Integrated  

Racial Progress Ranking

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.

Embed on your website<iframe src="//d2e70e9yced57e.cloudfront.net/wallethub/embed/18428/geochart-racial2.html" width="556" height="347" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe> <div style="width:556px;font-size:12px;color:#888;">Source: <a href="http://bit.ly/2Cmi14J>  

States with the Most Racial Progress

Overall Rank*	State	Total Score	‘Employment & Wealth’ Rank	‘Education’ Rank	‘Social & Civic Engagement’ Rank	‘Health’ Rank
1	Wyoming	77.02	4	1	1	N/A
2	Texas	65.08	14	4	7	7
3	New Mexico	65.03	13	5	6	43
4	Georgia	64.44	2	25	8	14
5	Mississippi	63.99	1	20	29	4
6	New Jersey	61.41	10	10	13	23
7	South Carolina	61.02	5	19	11	29
8	Florida	60.88	15	2	25	22
9	Idaho	60.65	28	8	3	2
10	North Carolina	60.57	9	15	21	18
11	Maryland	60.16	11	22	9	24
12	Delaware	59.81	7	21	17	30
13	Alabama	59.76	6	30	19	15
14	Connecticut	58.68	8	36	28	10
15	Louisiana	57.83	12	31	27	12
16	Massachusetts	57.81	17	44	4	26
17	Utah	57.77	30	6	5	38
18	Arkansas	57.30	16	37	22	13
19	California	56.92	23	3	43	21
20	Oklahoma	56.80	29	14	14	6
21	Rhode Island	55.70	20	23	35	28
22	Arizona	54.84	24	17	26	32
23	Oregon	54.80	41	7	2	19
24	Tennessee	54.79	18	29	39	25
25	Virginia	54.09	21	34	18	37
26	New York	54.07	22	43	10	33
27	Kentucky	53.83	31	32	12	11
28	Hawaii	53.19	19	41	23	47
29	Washington	52.92	33	11	31	8
30	Illinois	52.53	26	35	32	9
31	Montana	51.30	27	39	34	N/A
32	Pennsylvania	50.14	36	27	47	5
33	North Dakota	49.86	3	51	51	1
34	Kansas	49.44	35	28	15	39
35	New Hampshire	48.43	38	46	20	3
36	Missouri	48.38	25	38	33	41
37	Michigan	48.38	44	9	37	27
38	West Virginia	47.17	39	12	46	36
39	Alaska	46.98	37	18	40	46
40	Colorado	46.77	34	47	38	20
41	Nevada	46.30	42	16	16	42
42	Indiana	46.09	45	13	41	35
43	Ohio	45.61	40	40	42	34
44	Minnesota	43.27	48	24	45	16
45	Nebraska	42.85	43	33	44	44
46	Wisconsin	42.53	46	42	36	40
47	District of Columbia	42.46	49	26	30	31
48	South Dakota	41.47	32	50	50	45
49	Vermont	40.55	47	49	24	N/A
50	Iowa	36.09	50	48	48	17
51	Maine	31.69	51	45	49	N/A

*No. 1 = Most Racial Progress Achieved

 

Ask the Experts

The harsh realities of racial segregation and discrimination are no longer as visible in America as they once were — but they persist. In order to understand the driving forces behind such problems and possible solutions, we asked a panel of experts to share their thoughts and ideas. Click on the experts’ profiles to read their bios and responses to the following key questions:

1. What are the major causes of the racial wealth gap between black and white households?
2. What can state and local authorities do to help reduce racial gaps in wealth, employment and education?
3. What policies have proven effective in reducing racial disparities in the criminal justice system?
4. Should state and local authorities work to reduce racial segregation in housing? If so, how?
5. Why have some states been more successful than others in addressing racial inequalities?

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• Caryn Bell Ph.D. – Assistant Professor, University of Maryland
• Herman O. Kelly, Jr. Pastor, Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Adjunct Faculty Louisiana State University
• Mark Christian Professor & Chair, Department of Africana Studies, & Professor in Urban Education, Graduate Center-CUNY, Lehman College, City University of New York
• Mamadi Corra Professor, East Carolina University

Methodology

In order to determine the most racially integrated states and those that have achieved the most racial progress over time, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across three key dimensions: 1) Employment & Wealth, 2) Education & Civic Engagement and 3) Health.

We evaluated those dimensions using 22 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the highest level of racial integration and progress.

This analysis compares only blacks and whites in light of racial tensions in recent years that sparked the Black Lives Matter movement and the observance of the holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who played a prominent role in the Civil Rights Movement to end segregation and discrimination against blacks.

We ranked the states and the District of Columbia based on two key measures:

1. Racial Integration – Determined by subtracting the values attributed to whites and blacks for a given metric, using only the most recent available data.
2. Racial Progress – Determined by subtracting the values attributed to whites and blacks for a given metric, using the oldest available data and the most recent. Based on the result, we calculated the percentage of progress for that specific metric in the analyzed period.

If in some states blacks scored as high as or better than whites on a given metric, all such states were awarded the maximum number of points.

Finally, we determined each state and the District’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its total score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.

Employment & Wealth – Total Points: 40

• Median Annual Income: Full Weight (~6.67 Points)
• Labor-Force Participation Rate: Full Weight (~6.67 Points)
• Unemployment Rate: Full Weight (~6.67 Points)
• Homeownership Rate: Full Weight (~6.67 Points)
• Poverty Rate: Full Weight (~6.67 Points)
• Share of Executives: Full Weight (~6.67 Points)

Education – Total Points: 20

• Share of Adults with at Least a High School Degree: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)Note: “Adults” include the population aged 25 and older.
• Share of Adults with at Least a Bachelor’s Degree: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)Note: “Adults” include the population aged 25 and older.
• Standardized-Test Scores: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)Note: This metric is based on the results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).
• Public High School Dropout Rate: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)

Social & Civic Engagement – Total Points: 20

• Share of Single-Parent Households: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)
• Share of Adult Population on Parole: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)
• Share of Veterans: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)
• Voter-Turnout Rate: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)Note: This metric measures the rates for presidential elections.

Health – Total Points: 20

• Share of Adults in Poor or Fair Health: Full Weight (~2.50 Points)
• Share of Insured Adults: Full Weight (~2.50 Points)
• Share of Obese Adults: Full Weight (~2.50 Points)
• Share of Diabetic Adults: Full Weight (~2.50 Points)
• Share of Preterm Births: Full Weight (~2.50 Points)
• Share of Live Births with Low Birthweight: Full Weight (~2.50 Points)Note: “Low Birthweight” refers to less than 2,500 grams.
• Infant-Mortality Rate: Full Weight (~2.50 Points)Note: This metric measures the number of deaths of infants younger than one year per 1,000 live births.
• Suicide Rate: Full Weight (~2.50 Points)

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 Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Bureau of Justice Statistics, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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