States with the Most Racial Progress

Adam McCann, Financial WriterJan 11, 2022

Adam McCann, Financial Writer
Jan 11, 2022

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

In 2021, conversations on race have remained prevalent, with high-profile police brutality cases going to trial, and protests continuing. These discussions seem to be making an impact, too – according to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center, 50% of U.S. adults say “a lot” more needs to be done to ensure equal rights for all Americans, and only 15% believe “nothing” needs to be done.

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 black people and white people across 21 key indicators of equality and integration in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Our data set ranges from median annual household income to standardized-test scores to voter turnout.

Table of Contents

Racial Integration Ranking

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

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States with the Most Racial Integration

Overall Rank	State	Total Score	Employment & Wealth	Education	Social & Civic Engagement	Health
1	Arizona	75.16	5	9	5	17
2	Hawaii	74.48	2	13	1	44
3	Texas	74.08	6	4	18	13
4	Montana	73.95	4	5	4	50
5	Maryland	72.84	7	21	11	6
6	New Mexico	72.80	3	3	2	48
7	Wyoming	72.77	15	1	3	51
8	Alaska	72.46	1	15	6	47
9	Washington	72.43	13	14	15	5
10	Georgia	72.35	16	12	14	7
11	Kentucky	71.44	12	8	19	16
12	Delaware	71.28	8	11	7	37
13	Idaho	69.92	25	2	12	8
14	West Virginia	69.45	17	6	22	20
15	Virginia	69.19	10	27	13	23
16	Florida	69.08	9	29	27	10
17	Colorado	68.06	11	19	23	31
18	North Carolina	68.03	18	26	10	26
19	Tennessee	67.77	14	18	21	32
20	Nevada	67.71	24	17	24	9
21	Vermont	65.86	20	10	40	19
22	Rhode Island	65.80	29	40	35	2
23	Oklahoma	65.54	31	7	20	36
24	California	65.30	22	22	8	39
25	Indiana	64.37	40	20	16	15
26	Missouri	63.88	30	23	29	27
27	New Jersey	62.84	32	34	26	24
28	Alabama	62.72	26	24	30	38
29	Kansas	62.11	34	31	17	42
30	Connecticut	61.80	33	36	31	22
31	Utah	61.68	37	33	9	29
32	Arkansas	61.62	27	16	46	18
33	Massachusetts	61.24	23	42	47	3
34	Mississippi	60.55	38	25	36	25
35	Oregon	60.22	19	28	50	12
36	New Hampshire	59.95	28	30	41	46
37	South Carolina	59.88	21	44	33	40
38	New York	59.74	35	41	37	21
39	Maine	59.73	39	43	28	4
40	Ohio	57.66	45	37	32	28
41	North Dakota	55.99	44	32	43	14
42	Michigan	55.32	46	39	38	33
43	Nebraska	54.91	41	46	25	41
44	Pennsylvania	54.69	43	35	45	34
45	Louisiana	54.18	42	45	39	43
46	Illinois	53.13	47	38	34	35
47	South Dakota	52.00	36	49	48	1
48	Minnesota	49.84	49	47	44	11
49	Iowa	44.68	48	48	49	30
50	Wisconsin	33.01	50	50	51	45
51	District of Columbia	28.36	51	51	42	49

Note: *No. 1 = Most Integrated
With the exception of “Total Score,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that state, where a rank of 1 represents the best conditions for that metric category.

artwork 2022 states that have made racial progress racial integration

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.

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States with the Most Racial Progress

Overall Rank	State	Total Score	Employment & Wealth	Education	Social & Civic Engagement	Health
1	Wyoming	73.23	6	1	2	N/A
2	Texas	66.11	15	4	7	2
3	Georgia	65.03	2	19	8	11
4	Mississippi	64.93	1	12	25	5
5	Florida	64.00	14	2	15	4
6	Idaho	62.32	25	5	1	3
7	New Mexico	62.01	17	6	5	44
8	Maryland	61.54	13	25	11	8
9	North Carolina	61.37	5	17	22	7
10	New Jersey	61.25	8	9	14	18
11	Connecticut	60.23	7	29	16	9
12	South Carolina	57.57	3	32	33	28
13	Arkansas	57.55	9	31	32	14
14	Delaware	57.33	12	16	12	39
15	Alabama	56.98	4	35	27	25
16	Virginia	56.98	20	30	20	15
17	Oregon	56.93	36	7	3	21
18	Rhode Island	56.24	19	26	24	24
19	California	56.14	23	3	35	35
20	Montana	55.87	28	20	6	N/A
21	Louisiana	55.85	10	36	29	19
22	Massachusetts	55.47	16	42	23	16
23	Arizona	55.16	24	14	21	40
24	Tennessee	54.23	18	34	31	26
25	New York	53.73	22	41	13	23
26	Utah	53.05	38	10	4	47
27	Washington	52.63	34	11	17	20
28	Illinois	52.55	29	33	34	13
29	Kansas	51.85	35	22	10	34
30	Oklahoma	51.50	30	18	18	37
31	Hawaii	51.14	21	43	19	42
32	Alaska	50.33	26	15	40	43
33	Missouri	50.12	27	28	36	36
34	Michigan	49.67	43	8	41	17
35	Pennsylvania	49.34	37	24	48	12
36	Nevada	48.81	44	13	9	30
37	Kentucky	48.69	32	38	26	29
38	North Dakota	47.71	11	50	51	1
39	Colorado	47.37	33	40	37	38
40	Indiana	46.45	46	27	38	22
41	New Hampshire	45.00	39	49	30	10
42	Ohio	44.69	42	37	45	31
43	Minnesota	42.88	49	21	42	27
44	District of Columbia	42.75	51	23	28	6
45	Maine	41.98	45	45	47	N/A
46	Nebraska	41.75	40	39	39	45
47	West Virginia	40.92	41	46	46	41
48	South Dakota	40.47	31	51	50	46
49	Wisconsin	40.26	47	47	43	33
50	Vermont	39.42	48	44	44	N/A
51	Iowa	33.32	50	48	49	32

Note: *No. 1 = Most Racial Progress Achieved
With the exception of “Total Score,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that state, where a rank of 1 represents the best conditions for that metric category.

artwork 2022 states that have made racial progress racial progress

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:

What are the major causes of the racial wealth gap between black and white households?
What can state and local authorities do to help reduce racial gaps in wealth, employment and education?
Should state and local authorities work to reduce racial segregation in housing? If so, how?
Why have some states been more successful than others in addressing racial inequalities?
Various socioeconomic factors – such as employment type and income, living conditions and social support – influence the likelihood of contracting COVID-19 and getting treatment. What can local policymakers do to address racial disparities and prevent further health inequalities?

Ask the Experts

Sonal Pandya
Associate Professor, Department of Politics – University of Virginia
Read More

Abel A. Bartley
Ph.D. – Professor, Department of History, College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities – Clemson University
Read More

Corina Schulze
Ph.D. – Associate Professor, Department of Political Science & Criminal Justice – University of South Alabama
Read More

hephzibah v. strmic-pawl
Ph.D. – Associate Professor of Sociology – Manhattanville College
Read More

Lu Wendy Yan
Ph.D. – Assistant Professor, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences – Minnesota State University
Read More

Jonathan Feingold
Associate Professor of Law, School of Law – Boston University
Read More

More Experts

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 four key dimensions: 1) Employment & Wealth, 2) Education 3) Social & Civic Engagement and 4) Health.

We evaluated those dimensions using 21 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 black people and white people in light of racial tensions in recent years that sparked the Black Lives Matter movement. We released this report ahead 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 black people.

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

Racial Integration – Determined by subtracting the values attributed to white people and black people for a given metric, using only the most recent available data.
Racial Progress – Determined by subtracting the values attributed to white people and black people 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 black people scored as high as or better than white people 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 the states.

Employment & Wealth – Total Points: 40

Median Annual Household 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 (~2.86 Points)
Share of Insured Adults: Full Weight (~2.86 Points)
Share of Obese Adults: Full Weight (~2.86 Points)
Share of Diabetic Adults: Full Weight (~2.86 Points)
Share of Preterm Births: Full Weight (~2.86 Points)
Share of Live Births with Low Birthweight: Full Weight (~2.86 Points)
Note: “Low Birthweight” refers to less than 2,500 grams.
Infant-Mortality Rate: Full Weight (~2.86 Points)
Note: This metric measures the number of deaths of infants younger than one year per 1,000 live births.

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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