The Racial Wealth Gap

2022

This 2022 Treasury Department blog post, written by Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy Benjamin Harris and economist Sydney Schreiner Wertz, examines the persistence of racial differences in U.S. household wealth. The article includes data from a 2019 study showing that the median white family had $184,000 in wealth compared to only $23,000 for the median Black family. The authors conclude: “The racial gaps in economic security in the United States are stark and have been exacerbated by policies that hinder people of color from building wealth.”