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Two cities in North Carolina are some of the best for Black Americans seeking financial success, according to a new study by SmartAsset.
Charlotte and Durham are ranked in the top ten nationally for places ‘Where Black Americans Fare Best Economically’ out of the 129 largest U.S. cities surveyed. The group weighed factors such as business and home ownership, median income, workforce participation, education, and poverty rates for Black residents from data collected by the U.S. Census.
“In both North Carolina locales, more than 30% of Black adults have their bachelor’s degree and at least 3% of businesses are Black-owned – compared to study-wide averages of about 23% and 2%, respectively.”
Charlotte was ranked No. 6 with this assessment:
“Though the median Black household income in Charlotte, North Carolina – at a little more than $46,300 – is relatively low, Charlotte ranks in the top third of cities for the other five metrics we considered. It has the 28th-highest Black home ownership rate (41.45%), the 18th-highest Black labor force participation rate (73.0%) and the 14th-lowest poverty rate for Black residents (13.6%). Additionally, more than 30% of Black adults have their bachelor’s degree and almost 4% of businesses in the larger Charlotte metro area are Black-owned – both of which rank within the top 25 out of all 129 cities in the study.”
As for Durham, the city was two spots below Charlotte at No 8. Here’s what SmartAsset gathered from the suburb of Raleigh.
“Only about two hours northeast of Charlotte, Durham, North Carolina takes the eighth spot on our list. The city ranks particularly well for its percentage of Black adults with a bachelor’s degree (35.2%) and percentage of Black-owned businesses in the larger Durham-Chapel Hill metro area (4.7%). Additionally, the Black labor force participation rate is the 30th-highest across all 129 cities in the study, at 69.4%. The poverty rate for Black residents is 35th-lowest overall, at 18.9%.” Durham has an average income of $45,486 for Black households.
The top place for Black American’s according to SmartAsset was tied between Grand Prairie, Texas and Virginia Beach, Virginia. Both of those cities rank the highest for median income, Black home ownership, and Black owned businesses.
Overall, a huge set of disparities for Black families with a net worth 87% lower than that of white families, and 33% lower than that of Hispanic families, according to the Federal Reserve’s 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances.
Two NC cities named top places for Black Americans to thrive financially was originally published on wbt.com
