White families in 2016 had nearly 10 times the median wealth of African American families — a wider divide than in 1983, when whites had about eight times the black median wealth, according to the Urban Institute. In 2016, the median financial assets of a white family totaled $171,000, versus $17,409 for a black family. In 1983, adjusted for inflation, white families had $105,369 in assets and black families had $13,324.
Source: Serena Lei, “Nine Charts about Inequality in America (Updated),” Chart 3, Urban Institute, Oct. 5, 2017, https://tinyurl.com/hsrvse4
Data for the graphic are as follows:
Year | White Median Family Wealth | Black Median Family Wealth |
1983 | $105,369 | $13,324 |
1989 | $134,678 | $8,023 |
1992 | $116,892 | $16,603 |
1995 | $120,269 | $17,101 |
1998 | $141,614 | $22,870 |
2001 | $166,511 | $26,149 |
2004 | $179,283 | $25,944 |
2007 | $198,623 | $24,318 |
2010 | $143,416 | $17,575 |
2013 | $146,314 | $13,487 |
2016 | $171,000 | $17,409 |