National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

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Economic Empowerment


In 2000, the median net worth of households maintained by African Americans was $7,500, less than one tenth of the net worth of $79,400 for non-Hispanic white households.

(Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies)

In 2000, the median net worth of African American households was $7,500, less than one tenth of the net worth of $79,400 for non-Hispanic white households. In comparison, the median net worth of Hispanic households was $9,750.

The vast differences between the net worth of whites and that of African Americans and Hispanics result from:

  • the larger percentages of white households that own most assets
  • the higher net worth of the assets that white households hold within each asset type
  • the higher percentages of whites who hold the most valuable assets, including homes, stocks and mutual funds, retirement and savings accounts (including 401K and thrift savings plans, and IRA and Keogh accounts), rental property and other real estate and other interest earning assets.

The most valuable asset widely owned by Americans is the equity in their homes (the value of the home minus the mortgage owed). Nearly three-quarters (73%) of white households held home equity in 2000, with a median value of $64,000. In contrast, less than half of African American and Hispanic households owned homes, and their median equity ($35,000 and $38,000, respectively) was considerably lower than the median for whites.

(Source: Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies)


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