The phrase location, location, location doesn’t just apply to real estate sales.
Where you live can quite literally dictate your quality of life and affect nearly every aspect your existence. Heavy, right? Financial news and opinion company 24/7 Wall Street St took a deep dive into which US cities would be the most conducive for fostering success if a Black American were to relocate there.
In a February 2023 report, the platform released a report analyzing 2021 ACS data, using an index of eight variables measuring socioeconomic gaps between white and Black residents. Although the list doesn’t rank the locations where Black Americans are the most economically vulnerable, it does spotlight which cities have the most vast wealth and well-being gaps between white and Black populations.
“Of the 25 metro areas on this list, 15 are in Midwestern states, and nine are in the Northeast,” the report states. “Only one of these cities is in the West and none are located in the South. Practices such as redlining were commonplace in many of these cities in the 20th century, laying the groundwork for ongoing inequality that remains evident today.”
Topping the worst of the worst on the list is St. Cloud, Minnesota, a city with a Black poverty rate of nearly 50%, nearly five times the local 8.8% white poverty rate, 24/7 Wall St. points out. This is largely linked to employment difficulties, and low Black homeownership.
Other cities that made the list (not in any particular order) includes Bridgeport, CT, Champaign-Urbana, IL, Elmira, NY, Chicago and Waterloo, IA.