Jan 11

Jan 11 On The Eve Of MLK Day, Has Maryland Made Racial Progress?

Maryland Ranks 8th in U.S. Racial Progress

With Martin Luther King Jr. Day around the corner and large gaps still existing between the incomes and employment rates of white and black Americans, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2024's States with the Most Racial Progress.

WalletHub measured the gaps between black people and white people across 22 key indicators of equality in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The data set ranges from median annual household income to standardized-test scores to voter turnout.

In a list of top 10 states that have made the most racial progress, Maryland came in at number 8, closely followed by Florida and North Carolina.

At the top came Georgia with the most racial progress over time, followed by Texas and Mississippi. WalletHub’s study measured 22 indicators across four dimensions: employment and wealth, education, social and civic engagement, and health. Their report also separately ranked the states with the highest current levels of racial integration, and Hawaii, Arizona and New Mexico came out on top.

"Georgia, the state with the most racial progress, has reduced the gap between the earnings of white and black Americans by over 32% since 1979. It has also decreased the gap in business ownership by over 11% since 2002," said Cassandra Happe, an analyst at WalletHub. "Georgia has made a lot of progress with reducing the poverty rate of black residents and increasing the share of black business executives, too.”