Disparities in United States
- Racial disparities refer to a condition where one racial group systemically and disproportionately experiences worse outcomes in comparison to another racial group or groups. The term racial disparity refers to a difference that may or may not be related to discrimination. Racial inequality refers to the social inequality and advantages and disparities that affect different races, and can be seen as a result of historic oppression, inequality of inheritance, or racism and prejudice, especially against minority groups. A racial disparity is defined as a persistent difference in outcomes between racial groups.
- Racial disparities can be observed in many areas of life, including:
- Elementary and secondary education performance
- Rates of college completion
- Homeownership
- Wealth accumulation
- Experience with the criminal justice system
- Wealth
- Employment
- Housing
- Mobility
- Health
- Rates of incarceration
- Political representation
Research Report:
12 charts show how racial disparities persist across wealth, health, education and beyond:
The Economic Policy Institute, EPI, is an independent, nonprofit think tank that researches the impact of economic trends and policies on working people in the United States. EPI’s research helps policymakers, opinion leaders, advocates, journalists, and the public understand the bread-and-butter issues affecting ordinary Americans.'An interactive chartbook'
Advancing anti-racist economic research and policy
Racial and ethnic disparities in the United States
An interactive chartbook
Report • June 15, 2022
Updated November 2024
This interactive chartbook provides a statistical snapshot of race and ethnicity in the United States, depicting racial/ethnic disparities observed through The chartbook also highlights some notable intersections of gender with race and ethnicity, including educational attainment, labor force participation, life expectancy, and maternal mortality. The findings are bracing, as they show how much more work we need to do to address longstanding and persistent racial inequities.
Most charts include data for five racial/ethnic groups in each of the charts—white, Black, Hispanic, Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI), and American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN). In the charts and text, “Americans” refers to all U.S. residents, regardless of citizenship status.
Data for AAPI and AIAN populations have not always been available from the federal government sources used. Starting in November 2024 this data is included in selected charts identified with a yellow box.
Researchers seeking disaggregated data and statistics for AAPI and AIAN groups are encouraged to look at sources cited in the companion essays in the Anti-Racist Economic Research and Policy Guide: AAPI Data and the Center for Indian Country Development at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
As our efforts illustrate, collecting and maintaining data sources that are representative of the entire U.S. population is an essential first step toward overcoming the invisibility, neglect, and lack of understanding experienced by many communities of color. Future work on this project will involve identifying comparable data from alternative sources that fill in as much of the missing information in the chartbook as possible.
12 charts show how racial disparities persist across wealth, health, education and beyond
Mabinty QuarshieN'dea Yancey-BraggAnne GodlaskyJim SergentVeronica Bravo
USA TODAY, Published June 18,2020
Black people have long suffered from persistent inequality in the United States due to centuries of racism, discrimination and the long-lasting effects of slavery. This has created conditions that make it difficult for Black Americans to get ahead.
Systemic racism — at times called structural racism or institutional racism — is "the complex interaction of culture, policy and institutions that holds in place the outcomes we see in our lives," says Glenn Harris, president of Race Forward. Systemic racism leads to disparities in many "success indicators," he says, including wealth, health, criminal justice, employment, housing, political representation and education....more
Mabinty QuarshieN'dea Yancey-BraggAnne GodlaskyJim SergentVeronica Bravo
USA TODAY, Published June 18,2020
Black people have long suffered from persistent inequality in the United States due to centuries of racism, discrimination and the long-lasting effects of slavery. This has created conditions that make it difficult for Black Americans to get ahead.
Systemic racism — at times called structural racism or institutional racism — is "the complex interaction of culture, policy and institutions that holds in place the outcomes we see in our lives," says Glenn Harris, president of Race Forward. Systemic racism leads to disparities in many "success indicators," he says, including wealth, health, criminal justice, employment, housing, political representation and education....more