According to an analysis by 24/7 Wall St., Milwaukee is the worst city in the country for black Americans.
To determine the 15 worst cities for black Americans, 24/7 Wall St. ranked the nation’s metropolitan areas based on racial disparities in income, education, health, incarceration, and white-black achievement gaps in other socioeconomic outcomes using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Racine, Wis., was number two on the list, right behind Milwaukee which 24/7 Wall St. describes as “one of the many Rust Belt cities where a history of redlining, exclusionary zoning, and discriminatory lending practices has contributed to segregation — that remains today — and to some of the largest racial disparities in income, health, and other socioeconomic measures in the country.”
The 24/7 analysis revealed the following statistics regarding Milwaukee, Waukesha, and West Allis:
◉ Residents who are black: 257,895 (16.4%)
◉ Median income of those who are black: $28,928 (43.8% of white income)
◉ Unemployment: 13.9% (black); 3.9% (white)
◉ Homeownership rate: 27.8% (black); 68.2% (white)
The median income among white households in Milwaukee, the website notes, is $66,097. Income is one of the primary correlates of health and longevity, and in Milwaukee, 1,020 in every 100,000 black residents die every year — over 300 more deaths per 100,000 than the white mortality rate, one of the largest disparities nationwide.
