America Counts: Stories Behind the Numbers

Households with a White, non-Hispanic householder had 10 times more wealth than those with a Black householder in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Income and Program Participation.

A householder is a person who owns or rents a housing unit and whose name appears on the deed or lease. In this article, White is used to describe non-Hispanic White householders; Black householders can be either Hispanic or non-Hispanic.

In 2021, households with a White householder made up 65.3% of all U.S. households and held 80.0% of all wealth.

Those with a Black householder made up 13.6% of all U.S. households but held only 4.7% of all wealth. And their median wealth ($24,520) was about one-tenth the median wealth of households with a White householder ($250,400).

Continue reading to learn more about:

• How household wealth is distributed by race of householder
• How asset ownership differs by race of householder
• How unsecured debt holding differs by race of householder

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