Washington D.C. Has a Problem Integrating Black People: Report

Despite being one of the more diverse cities in the country, Washington, D.C., has a problem when it comes to racial equity, according to WalletHub, and experts discussed the rankings with Newsweek.

The company's States With the Most Racial Progress in 2024 report found the nation's capital to rank dead last in terms of racial integration.

The report looked at the racial integration of white and Black people based on various factors like median annual household income and standardized test scores. It also tracked states' racial progress over time.

Across the country, nearly half, or 44 percent of Americans said they're somewhat or very pessimistic about America's ability to ensure racial equality for all people in the future. That number tracks with current economic statistics, which show the median yearly income of white men is $20,000 higher than that of Black men, WalletHub said.

But that doesn't mean every city or state has the same racial equity or integration, or even similar salary gaps.

States' Racial Progress (2024)

Racial Integration

While some states like Kentucky or Texas historically had low rates of racial integration and are now leading the pack in terms of racial progress, others have fallen behind.

"It's encouraging to see that many of the states that were the most resistant to integration have made substantial progress toward racial equality in the past fifty years or so," WalletHub analyst Cassandra Happe said, adding that four of the states that have made the most racial progress overall are now among the top 10 most integrated states.

The top five states for racial integration were Hawaii, Arizona, New Mexico, Washington and Kentucky.

But the United States capitol didn't fare so well, claiming the 51st spot for racial integration, followed by Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa.

Income Gaps

When it came to the highest median income gaps for Black and white residents, D.C. stood out with the largest difference. However, Wisconsin (No. 50 overall), Louisiana (No. 39 overall), Mississippi (No. 34 overall) and Illinois (No. 46 overall), respectively, also had some of the most severe income gaps, indicating conditions aren't ideal for racial equity.

D.C. also took the worst position when it came to Black and white unemployment and labor force participation gaps, whereas Kentucky, Alaska, Vermont, Arizona and Tennessee claimed the top five spots in that category.

D.C. also neared the highest poverty rate gap between the races at number 48. (Iowa, Wisconsin and Wyoming brought up the rear in that category, respectively.)

Education

Black residents in D.C. were also far less likely to have either a high school diploma or Bachelor's degree, coming in at No. 49 and 51, respectively, the study found, and standardized test scores were way below the white average for Black residents. Vermont had the lowest gap in that category.

States' Racial Shifts Over Time

Happe said the differences in state performance come down to history, socio-economic policies and cultural shifts. So the states that were initially resistant to integration might have made significant strides over the past 50 years, even in some of the most Southern states like Georgia, Texas and Mississippi.

But in D.C., it's a different story.

"The District of Columbia's ranking at the bottom of the list can be attributed to a combination of persistent economic disparities, educational gaps, and social challenges," Happe told Newsweek.

"There were significant inequalities in median income, employment rates, and educational achievements between white and Black populations. These factors, coupled with the complex dynamics of a metropolitan area, may contribute to the District facing unique hurdles in achieving racial integration and progress."

Alex del Carmen, the associate dean at Tarleton State University's School of Criminology, Criminal Justice and Public Administration, said while many assume America's capital would be a shining example of racial equality and integration, the truth is far from that.

"One would assume that our nation's capital should be on top of the list of most integrated locations in the United States," del Carmen told Newsweek. "However, it is at the very bottom."

Many reasons are at play for exactly why that is, but one factor might be due to D.C. being inadequately represented in Congress, del Carmen said.

Over the past decade, D.C.'s population has rapidly grown, with more residents and transplants joining the capital city, most of them young and white, according to the Council Office of Racial Equality (CORE).

Even as the population has skyrocketed, the housing supply has remained largely unchanged, causing higher costs of living and an uptick in poverty rates. It's also pushed many Black and Hispanic families out who can no longer afford rent within the city.

"Historic practices of redlining, racial covenants, and restricted wealth-building opportunities made Black residents less likely to own homes," Core said on its website. "Black residents who own homes in the District are more likely to own homes in areas where appraisal values are commonly lower than other areas in the District. Because of this, Black residents have disproportionately not been able to benefit from this increase in wealth."

Black residents are also five times more likely to have incomes below the federal poverty line in D.C. whereas white residents are strongly overrepresented among D.C.'s highest earners, CORE found.

This largely comes down to education levels and the industries Black and white residents worked in, with the white D.C. population far more often in professional and managerial positions while Black residents were in sales and service industries. The largest factor might have been education since a disproportionate number of Black residents hadn't completed advanced degrees, despite them being required in more than half of jobs in D.C.

Altogether, Black and white residents make up around the same percent of the D.C. population, at roughly 42 and 45 percent, according to CORE. But their economic realities often reflect two entirely different cities.

"The fact that the district is our nation's capital should be enough to ensure that it leads the nation in racial integration," del Carmen said. "Perhaps it is representative of our reality today as a divided nation that our own capital city is last on the list."