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, for better and worse, brought us to the 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 Los Angeles County.
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 2021. White households are non-Hispanic/Latino.
Los Angeles Almanac Graphic
Source: U.S. Census Bureau.
Blacks in Los Angeles County had almost double the unemployment rate of Asians and 1.5 times that of Whites. Native Americans also suffered a disproportionately high rate of unemployment.
U.S. Census estimates for 2021. 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 2.1 times higher than for Whites. Hispanics suffered a poverty rate 1.7 times higher than for Whites.
U.S. Census estimates for 2021. 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 3.8 times more likely to have earned a bachelor degree or higher than Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders. They were also 3.5 times more likely to have done so than Hispanics and 1.8 times more than Blacks.
U.S. Census estimates for 2021. 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 three times more 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 did Whites, Asians, or Blacks.
U.S. Census estimates for 2021. White persons are those who are non-Hispanic/Latino.
Los Angeles Almanac Graphic
Source: U.S. Census Bureau.
