A recent study by researchers at Harvard University and the U.S. Census Bureau revealed that the income gap between white and Black young adults was narrower for millennials compared to Generation X. Data showed that by age 27, Black Americans born in 1978 to poor parents were earning nearly $13,000 less annually than their white counterparts from similar backgrounds. However, this gap had decreased to around $9,500 for those born in 1992.
The study attributed the shrinking racial income gap to increased income mobility for poor Black children and decreased mobility for low-income white children. Researchers highlighted that the employment rates in communities where individuals grew up played a significant role. Mobility for Black individuals improved in areas where parental employment rates rose, while it declined for white individuals in communities where parental employment rates dropped.
Conversely, the study indicated that the class gap had widened for white individuals between the generations of Gen X and millennials. White Americans born to poor parents in 1978 earned about $10,300 less than those born to wealthy parents, whereas for those born in 1992, the gap increased to approximately $13,200 due to diminishing mobility for low-income households and increasing mobility for high-income households.
The researchers noted minimal changes in the class gap between Black Americans born into low-income and high-income families as both groups experienced similar improvements in earnings. The study also documented disparities in educational attainment, standardized test scores, marriage rates, and mortality rates among different racial and economic groups.
Regional variations were observed, with Black individuals from low-income families experiencing the most economic mobility in the southeast and industrial Midwest, while economic mobility declined the most for white individuals from low-income households in the Great Plains and coastal regions.
To address these disparities, policymakers were advised to invest in schools and youth mentorship programs during economic downturns and promote connections between various racial and economic groups by revising zoning restrictions or school district boundaries. The researchers emphasized the importance of increasing connections within communities to enhance opportunities for all individuals.
