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The State of the Dream 2004: Enduring Disparities in Black and White

Appendix

Note on Racial Classifications: Over the years, the Census Bureau has introduced increasingly restrictive definitions of racial categories, which has resulted in an increase in the total number of categories. For example, in terms of Family income, in 1968, there were two categories: "White" and "Black." In 1972, two new categories were added -- "Hispanic Origin" and "White, Not Hispanic." In 2002, more categories were added, including "White Alone;" "White Alone, Not Hispanic;" and "Black Alone." In all cases, we used data for the most restrictive category available for that year. In the case of Family income, this means that the 1968 figures are for "White" and "Black," and the 2002 figures are for "White Alone, Not Hispanic" and "Black Alone."

FIRST OBSERVATION
(All dollar figures adjusted for inflation to enable comparison with second observation.)

Indicator	Year	White	Black	Black as a % of White
Unemployment Rate	1972	5.1%	10.4	203.9%
Median Family Income	1968	$39,206	$23,514	60.0%
Per Capita Income	1968	$12,454	$6,823	54.8%
Median Full-time Worker pay, female	1968	$20,231	$15,377	76.0%
Median Full-time Worker pay, male	1968	$34,749	$23,189	66.7%
Median Household Net Worth	1989	$97,800	$5,300	5.4%
Average Household Net Worth	1989	$317,600	$57,000	17.9%
Overall Poverty Rate	1968	10.0%	34.7%	347.0%
Child Poverty Rate	1968	10.7%	43.1%	402.8%
Over-65 Poverty Rate	1968	23.1%	47.7%	206.5%
Infant Mortality Rate (per 1,000)	1970	17.8	32.6	183.1%

SECOND OBSERVATION

Indicator	Year	White	Black	Black as a % of White
Unemployment Rate	2003	5.2%	10.8	207.7%
Median Family Income	2002	$58,270	$33,525	57.5%
Per Capita Income	2001	$26,134	$14,953	57.2%
Median Full-time Worker pay, female	2001	$31,794	$27,297	85.9%
Median Full-time Worker pay, male	2001	$43,194	$31,921	73.9%
Median Household Net Worth	2001	$121,000	$19,000	15.7%
Average Household Net Worth	2001	$468,200	$75,700	16.2%
Overall Poverty Rate	2002	8.0%	24.1%	301.3%
Child Poverty Rate	2002	8.9%	32.1%	360.7%
Over-65 Poverty Rate	2002	8.3%	23.8%	286.7%
Infant Mortality Rate (per 1,000)	2001	5.7	14.0	245.6%

PARITY YEAR CALCULATION

Indicator	Avg. Closing of Gap Per Year, in Percentage Points	Percentage Point Gap Remaining	Years to Parity	Parity Year	Source
Unemployment Rate	[diverging]	-	-	-	A
Median Family Income	[diverging]	-	-	-	B
Per Capita Income	0.07	42.8	581	2582	C
Median Full-time Worker pay, female	0.30	14.1	47	2048	D
Median Full-time Worker pay, male	0.22	26.1	120	2121	D
Median Household Net Worth	0.86	84.3	98	2099	E
Average Household Net Worth	[diverging]	-	-	-	E
Overall Poverty Rate	1.35	201.3	150	2152	F
Child Poverty Rate	1.24	260.7	210	2212	G
Over-65 Poverty Rate	[diverging]	-	-	-	G
Infant Mortality Rate (per 1,000)		-	-	-	G

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United for a Fair Economy • Racial Wealth Divide Project 25