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The State of the Dream 2004: Enduring Disparities in Black and White

Housing

"Let us march on segregated housing until every ghetto or social and economic depression dissolves, and Negroes and whites live side by side in decent, safe, and sanitary housing."

--Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Speech in Montgomery, Alabama
March 25, 1965

• The homeownership gap has barely budged since 1970.

• In 2002, almost three-quarters of white Americans owned their own home, compared with fewer than half of African Americans.

• Black homeownership has risen from 42% to 48% of families in the last 32 years, while white homeownership has jumped from 65% to 75%. If the homeownership gap continues to close at this rate, it would take 1,664 years, or approximately 55 generations, before the gap is closed completely.

[image:] Graph with the following text:
Homeownership Rate, 1970 and 2002
1970 White 65.4%
1970 Black 41.6%
2002 White 74.5%
2002 Black 47.9%
Years to Parity: 1,664
Parity Year: 3666

Source: 1970: U.S. Census Bureau, Historical Census of Housing Tables, Ownership Rates (for African-American). U.S. Census Bureau, Phone Inquiry, Jan. 8, 2004 (for White). 2002: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, as reported in Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Housing Market Conditions, 3rd Quarter 2003, Nov. 2003. See Appendix for Years to Parity calculation.

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14 United for a Fair Economy • Racial Wealth Divide Project