The gap between the rich and the poor in the U.S. has been widening — and for minorities, it is a chasm.
The difference between what minority Americans earn and hold in wealth compared to white Americans has been broadening since 1986 and has increased significantly since the onset of the Great Recession, according to a study conducted by researchers at New York University and distributed Monday by the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Many financial gains by minorities in the preceding decades were wiped out during the Great Recession, the study found. And while whites experienced economic recovery between 2010 and 2016, financial indicators for black and Hispanic consumers remained largely unchanged. Researchers often examine yearly income when observing inequality, but a family’s level of wealth — their stock, real estate, and other holdings — has a larger impact on well-being, the researchers said.
“[A] wealthier family is likely to be able to better provide for the educational and health needs of its children, to be living in a neighborhood characterized by more amenities and lower levels of crime, to have greater resources that can be called upon in times of economic hardship, and to have more influence in political life,” the study said.
The housing crisis and record numbers of foreclosures during and after the Great Recession took a particular toll on minorities, many of whom held subprime mortgages. This affected the wealth holdings of black families and other minorities: Homeownership among black Americans fell from 47.7% in 2010 to 44% in 2013. The homeownership rate for Hispanic Americans declined from 47.3% in 2010 to to 43.9% in 2013, the same that it was in 1992. Meanwhile, homeownership among white Americans increased in these years, from 66.9% in 2010 to 69.6% in 2013.
However, “things generally turned around for the two minority groups from 2013 to 2016,” the study said, with net worth for the groups showing “remarkable recovery.” Incomes of black and Hispanic households recovered and by 2016 had either equaled or surpassed their 2007 peaks.
Although the wealth disparity is particularly pronounced for minorities, the gap between the richest and poorest Americans — overall, no matter their race — has reached record levels in recent years. In 2015, America’s top 1% made 26.3 times as much income as the bottom 99% — an increase from 2013, when they earned 25.3 times as much, a previous study from the Economic Policy Institute found. Families making more than $421,000 qualify as the 1% nationally, according to the study. The 1% currently has the highest share of wealth since a peak of 23.9% just before the Great Depression in 1928.
One major difference between minority and white households is the portion of wealth derived from pensions. Among white households pension accounts as a share of assets rose over time, from 3.0% in 1983 to 13.9% in 2016. Among black and Hispanic households, pension wealth was 3.9% and 7.7% respectively in 2016. “The results of this study highlight the importance of Social Security in the minority community,” the study said. Monthly Social Security checks could get cut 23% by 2034 under new policies.
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