North Carolina Ranks 8th in U.S. Racial Progress

By
Charlotte Stories
-
1965

With Martin Luther King Jr. Day around the corner and 58 percent of Americans saying race relations are “generally bad,” the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2020’s States with the Most Racial Progress.

To measure America’s progress in harmonizing racial groups, WalletHub measured the gaps between blacks and whites across 21 key indicators of equality and integration in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The data set ranges from median annual income to standardized-test scores to voter turnout.

This report examines the differences between only blacks and whites in light of the high-profile police-brutality incidents that sparked the Black Lives Matter movement. We released this report to coincide with 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.

Racial Progress in North Carolina (1=Most Progress, 25=Avg.)

Note: All of the following comparisons refer to the gaps between whites and blacks over time:

  • 18th – Change in Median Annual Income Gap
  • 9th – Change in Labor-Force Participation Rate Gap
  • 25th – Change in Unemployment Rate Gap
  • 14th – Change in Homeownership Rate Gap
  • 7th – Change in Poverty Rate Gap
  • 22nd – Change in Gap in % of Adults* with at Least a High School Diploma
  • 15th – Change in Standardized-Test Scores Gap
  • 4th – Change in Voter-Turnout Gap (2016 Presidential Election)

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 75.62 1 4 2 33
2 Hawaii 75.12 2 12 1 25
3 Wyoming 74.78 8 1 3 47
4 Texas 74.51 4 5 15 7
5 West Virginia 73.98 15 2 16 2
6 Arizona 73.03 3 8 17 13
7 Kentucky 72.28 12 6 12 9
8 Montana 70.21 14 7 5 38
9 Maryland 70.19 6 23 10 19
10 Colorado 70.18 9 31 6 16
11 Delaware 69.22 7 11 20 26
12 Tennessee 68.75 16 9 31 14
13 Virginia 68.67 13 24 7 27
14 Georgia 68.58 17 10 14 22
15 Alaska 67.93 5 13 4 50
16 Washington 67.34 10 14 40 12
17 North Carolina 66.96 18 21 9 30
18 Massachusetts 66.58 23 36 27 3
19 Idaho 66.13 31 3 22 5
20 Florida 65.64 11 27 37 17
21 Utah 64.30 27 25 11 29
22 Nevada 63.97 25 16 13 40
23 Oklahoma 63.79 24 44 8 23
24 Rhode Island 63.14 19 41 35 8
25 New Jersey 63.01 34 28 24 18
26 New Hampshire 62.89 28 15 28 44
27 California 62.86 26 20 30 31
28 Vermont 62.41 20 22 47 1
29 Alabama 62.36 29 26 21 39
30 South Carolina 62.17 21 39 19 35
31 Indiana 61.52 39 17 26 20
32 Arkansas 61.39 30 35 43 11
33 Missouri 61.34 33 18 29 43
34 Oregon 61.03 22 19 50 10
35 New York 60.17 36 40 32 15
36 Ohio 58.68 44 30 23 24
37 Mississippi 58.66 37 33 33 28
38 Kansas 58.44 32 29 38 49
39 Connecticut 57.10 35 42 41 34
40 Maine 56.70 43 46 18 21
41 Louisiana 54.52 40 43 34 46
42 Nebraska 53.74 38 47 25 48
43 Michigan 53.19 46 37 36 42
44 Pennsylvania 52.50 41 34 46 41
45 Minnesota 51.78 49 48 42 6
46 North Dakota 51.57 45 32 44 37
47 Illinois 50.65 47 38 39 45
48 South Dakota 49.26 42 50 48 4
49 Iowa 46.30 48 45 49 36
50 Wisconsin 37.17 50 49 51 32
51 District of Columbia 23.64 51 51 45 51