America's Racial Wealth Gap
America's Racial Wealth Gap

by Niall McCarthy (Statista)

Even though the United States is on course to become 'majority minority' by 2044, the country still has a huge and growing racial and ethnic wealth gap.

A recent study by Prosperity Now and the Institute for Policy Studies has found that white households in the middle-income quintile own nearly eight times as much wealth as middle-income black earners and ten times as much as middle-income latino earners.

Last year, the same research claimed that if current trends continue, it will take 228 years for the average black family to reach the same level of wealth white families have today. For latino families, it would take 84 years.

Since 1983, black and latino families have experienced a steep fall in wealth from $6,000 and $4,000 to just $1,700 and $2,000 respectively in 2013. Despite taking a considerable hit during the financial crisis, white households still had a median wealth of $116,800 in 2013. The study projects that the wealth gap will widen further in the coming years with black household wealth set to fall 30 percent between today and 2024. The median latino household will also see its wealth fall 20 percent by 2024 while white households will record a five percent increase.

The following infographic shows the sheer scale of the problem in America's racial and ethnic wealth divide.

Racial Wealth Inequality is Rampant in the United States

America's Racial Wealth Gap

 

America's Racial Wealth Gap - United States Current Events