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Milwaukee Population Distribution, 1975

[Two charts, both showing age-sex distribution. The one on the left is labeled "Black," and shows this population is heavily skewed younger; the one on the right is labeled "Non-Black," and shows this population is not heavily skewed according to age or sex]

Income
Across the nation, Black households are disproportionately living on or below
poverty level income. In 1970, Blacks represented 14.7 percent of the Mil-
waukee population, but nearly 40 percent of the poverty level households in
this city. One quarter (24.9%) of the Black households were living below pov-
erty, compared to only 5.7 percent of the non-Black households.

The Community Relations-Social Development Commission estimates that, in 1975,
nearly one-third of the households in its Inner City North target area had
incomes below poverty level.¹ In 1975, 81 percent of the Black population in
the City of Milwaukee lived in this target area.

The commonly held impression is that Blacks in Milwaukee and elsewhere are ex-
periencing income gains; however, the data demonstrates that the gains which
have been made have not been sufficient to overcome the historical disparities
between Black and non-Black incomes.

While the income of Black Milwaukeans has increased, Blacks are still earning
less than non-Blacks. In 1970, the median income for Milwaukee Blacks was
$7,491, which represents only 73 percent of the $10,262 median income of the
total population. Whereas 55 percent of the non-Black population earned over
$10,000, only 32 percent of the city's Blacks earned the same amount. In fact,
the median income for Black households is generally five to ten times behind
the median income for all households, such that the median income of Blacks in
1970 was only $827 higher than the median income of the population as a whole