Graphic images by Coffeebeanworks via Pixabay.com
In CNN's online 2020 article, US black-white inequality in 6 stark charts, graphic charts highlighted stark economic and health differences between blacks and whites in America. We looked specifically at Los Angeles County to see the contrasts among Angelenos, but, rather than just limit this to Blacks and Whites, we looked at comparisons between all racial groups. As with the rest of the country, we found stark contrasts.
The story in Los Angeles County, as for the country as a whole, is a complex web of historical, social, economic, and political forces that brought us to the stark contrasts we see today. What is undeniable is that race has long been a key factor in determining who would be more likely to succeed and who would not. One of the many examples of this was the real estate redlining that, to this day, has shaped economic outcomes in different Los Angeles County neighborhoods.
An exception among non-Whites in Los Angeles County has been the Asian population. Yet this story has its own complexities, not the least of which was the historic surge of affluent and wealthy Asian immigrants in the last four decades.
Black households in Los Angeles County had just 56 percent of the median household income of White households and only 61 percent of that of Asian households.
U.S. Census estimates for 2022. White households are non-Hispanic/Latino.
Los Angeles Almanac Graphic
Source: U.S. Census Bureau.
Blacks in Los Angeles County had more than one and a half times the unemployment rate of Whites and Hispanics and about double that of Asians. Pacific Islanders also suffered a disproportionately high rate of unemployment.
U.S. Census estimates for 2022. White persons are those who are non-Hispanic/Latino.
Los Angeles Almanac Graphic
Source: U.S. Census Bureau.
The poverty rate for Blacks in Los Angeles County was more than double that of Whites. Although Hispanics did a little better, their poverty rate was still 1.6 times higher than for Whites.
U.S. Census estimates for 2022. White persons are those who are non-Hispanic/Latino.
Los Angeles Almanac Graphic
Source: U.S. Census Bureau.
Asians and Whites in Los Angeles County were far more likely to have earned at least a bachelor degree than all other racial groups. Blacks came closest, but still just a little more than half as likely to achieve that level of education.
U.S. Census estimates for 2022. White persons are those who are non-Hispanic/Latino.
Los Angeles Almanac Graphic
Source: U.S. Census Bureau.
Hispanics/Latinos in Los Angeles County were more than three times as likely to lack health insurance than Whites and more than twice as likely than Asians or Blacks. Native Americans were also more than twice as likely to lack health insurance as Whites, Asians, or Blacks.
U.S. Census estimates for 2022. White persons are those who are non-Hispanic/Latino.
Los Angeles Almanac Graphic
Source: U.S. Census Bureau.
