progress is progress
Texas ranks as 2nd best state for racial progress in 2024, study finds
The annual report is released in conjunction with Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, personal finance website WalletHub is revisiting its annual report "States with the Most Racial Progress." Texas comes out near the top for 2024, but has room for improvement in several areas.
The report measures the gaps between Black and white residents across 22 key indicators of equality in all 50 states and the District of Columbia to determine the rankings. States are scored in four major categories: employment and wealth, education, social and civic engagement, and health. For the purpose of the study, "adults" include people aged 25 and older.
Texas ranks No. 2 overall in racial progress, placing just behind Georgia (No. 1). But in the study's separate ranking of states with the most racial integration, Texas lands farther down the list, at No. 8.
The racial progress report highlights the Lone Star State's efforts to reduce health insurance coverage gaps between white and Black residents – stating that the divide has reduced more than 13 percent within the last three decades. Improving higher education is another major milestone for the state, the study says.
"Texas has made some of the best progress in the nation when it comes to the share of [B]lack vs. white residents who have at least a bachelor’s degree," the report's author writes. "In fact, it’s one of the only states where the gap has decreased rather than increasing since 1970."
Texas earns top-five rankings in the the categories of education (No. 4) and health (No. 4), and ranked No. 6 in the study's social and civic engagement category. The state falls slightly behind in the employment and wealth category, ranking No. 13 overall.
Texas scores high in the following measures:
- No. 7 – Change in median annual household income gap
- No. 10 – Change in poverty rate gap
- No. 8– Change in gap in the percentage of adults with at least a high school diploma
- No. 4 – Change in gap in the percentage of adults with at least a bachelor's degree
- No. 11 – Change in standardized test scores gap
- No. 10 – Change in voter turnout gap during the 2020 presidential election
