Black Wealth - By the Numbers

African-American consumers spend a mind-boggling $1.4 TRILLION (yes, with T) annually.

All of that consumer spending has yet to translate into sustainable wealth for a majority of African-American families.

Below, we'll examine the state of Black wealth in America and the context behind those numbers.

The Median Black wealth declined by

Percent between 1983 and 2013

• From 1983 to 2013, the median wealth for a Black household declined by an astonishing 75%. During that same time, the wealth for a median white household increased by 14%.
  

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• In 2016, the average wealth of a Black household was still about one-third LESS than it was before the beginning of the Great Recession: $102,477 from $154,557.
  

Average Black wealth is still

Percent less than it was before the Great Recession

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The Black rate of home-ownership, at

Percent, has remained almost unchanged for 50 years

• Home-ownership is one of the most critical ways of building wealth, but after 50 years, the rate of home-ownership among African-Americans has remained stagnant at a mere 42%.
  

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• An African-American employee makes roughly 82.5 cents that of the typical white worker.
  

African American workers make about

cents for every dollar made by the average white worker

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More than

Percent of Black businesses are sole-proprietorships with no employees

• Out of the 2.6 million Black owned businesses nationwide, more than 95% of them are sole proprietorships or partnerships with no paid employees.
  

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• An overwhelming 70% of African-American business owners surveyed revealed that they financed their companies using cash.
  

Among Black business owners surveyed,

reported financing their business with cash

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The average credit score for Black borrowers is

the lowest out of all racial groups

• A recent study published by the US Federal Reserve Bank reveals that African-American consumers have the lowest average credit score of any racial group: 677.
  

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• Studies reveal that 87% of Black students borrowed federal loans in order to attend college.
  

Approximately

Percent of Black students take out federal loans to pay for college

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At the current pace, it will take

Yeas to close the wealth gap between Black and white families

• It is estimated that the wealth gap between Black and white households will take approximately 228 years to close at the current pace.
  

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• Only 36% of African-American adults have investments in stock.
  

African-American adults invest at only a

Percent rate in the stock market

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