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Issues facing Black America, sourced and plain

Know the numbers. Know your rights.

The official figures behind the headlines about Black families, and the places to go when something goes wrong at work, at home, with a lender, at the polls or at the doctor's office.

Read The Record Know your rights

The Record

All 10 figures

Straight from the agencies that publish them, with the year and a link. No spin in either direction.

  • Wealth

    2022

    Median family wealth

    $44,900 Black or African American non-Hispanic families

    $285,000 White non-Hispanic families

    Median net worth, in 2022 dollars. Results from the 2025 survey aren't out yet.

    The median Black family's net worth (what it owns minus what it owes) was $44,900 in 2022, compared with $285,000 for the median white family.

    Source: Federal Reserve Board, Survey of Consumer Finances, released October 2023

  • Housing

    Second quarter 2026

    Homeownership rate

    45.4% Black Alone householders

    74.5% Non-Hispanic White Alone householders

    Share of households that own their home.

    In the second quarter of 2026, 45.4% of Black households owned their home, compared with 74.5% of non-Hispanic white households.

    Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Housing Vacancies and Homeownership, second quarter 2026, released July 2026

  • Health

    2024

    Life expectancy at birth

    74.8 years Black non-Hispanic population

    78.9 years White non-Hispanic population

    Years a baby born in 2024 could expect to live at that year's death rates.

    A Black baby born in 2024 could expect to live 74.8 years if that year's death rates held for life, compared with 78.9 years for a white baby.

    Source: CDC National Center for Health Statistics, United States Life Tables, 2024, released August 2026

  • Work

    August 2026

    Unemployment rate

    6.0% Black or African American, 16 years and over

    3.7% White, 16 years and over

    Seasonally adjusted. In this survey, the Black and white groups both include Hispanic people.

    In August 2026, 6.0% of Black people in the labor force were unemployed and looking for work, compared with 3.7% of white people.

    Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, The Employment Situation, August 2026, released September 2026

Where to go when something goes wrong

15 official places to get help or file a complaint, each checked this month.

Commentary

Opinion

No commentary published yet.

When it comes, it'll be signed, labeled as opinion, and sourced wherever it makes a claim of fact. Read the standards.

When a number changes, you'll know

A short email when an agency publishes new figures, with what changed and what it means.

The list isn't hooked up yet, so this won't send.