Prairie State Wire

Illinois finished 42nd in a new study by the WalletHub website that examines racial equality and integration between white and Black residents among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, based on metrics such as median household income and standardized test scores.

The Prairie State earned a total score of 55.19 in the study by the personal finances website, with the maximum score being 100. In comparison, No. 1 Hawaii received a score of 78.6, according to the analysis.

The key racial dimensions examined in the study are gaps in employment and wealth; education; social and civic engagement, and health. Illinois finished 47th in employment and wealth; 38th in education; 35th in social and civic engagement; and 21st in health.

Illinois also had the fourth-highest gap between Blacks and whites in labor-force participation rates and the second-highest gap in jobless rates.

Segregation and discrimination remain problems despite progress in bridging gaps, according to WalletHub. Only 40% of all U.S. adults and less than a third of Black Americans think the recent focus on the treatment of Blacks arrested by police has led to real changes for the better in communities, the study said. 

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State Rankings on Racial Integration 

Overall Rank	State	Total Score	Employment & Wealth	Education	Social & Civic Engagement	Health
1	Hawaii	78.6	3	7	1	7
2	Alaska	77.27	1	14	7	5
3	New Mexico	76.28	2	2	2	43
4	Delaware	75.02	9	10	5	6
5	Arizona	73.9	4	6	6	37
6	Washington	72.81	8	11	16	9
7	Texas	72.73	5	8	18	15
8	Kentucky	72.15	11	5	19	18
9	Maryland	71.56	7	25	11	11
10	Montana	71.25	6	22	3	47
11	Georgia	70.95	14	9	12	24
12	Idaho	69.33	17	4	14	34
13	West Virginia	69.04	23	3	30	23
14	Florida	69.01	10	28	28	8
15	Tennessee	68.9	15	12	21	26
16	Wyoming	68.61	34	1	4	48
17	Virginia	67.92	12	30	13	31
18	Colorado	66.98	13	34	23	22
19	California	66.93	22	15	9	29
20	North Carolina	66.16	16	24	10	46
21	Oklahoma	65.83	27	13	15	35
22	New Jersey	64.94	29	23	24	19
23	Nevada	64.3	28	31	26	13
24	Missouri	64.3	26	21	25	30
25	Vermont	63.47	25	19	41	10
26	Indiana	63.1	39	17	20	25
27	Alabama	62.87	31	20	29	38
28	Massachusetts	62.83	21	37	45	2
29	Maine	62.04	35	44	27	1
30	South Carolina	61.87	20	33	33	40
31	Connecticut	61.51	32	35	31	32
32	Rhode Island	61.32	18	47	37	14
33	New York	60.47	37	41	36	16
34	Kansas	60.43	36	43	17	33
35	Ohio	59.88	44	27	32	17
36	Oregon	59.85	19	18	49	20
37	Utah	59.56	38	42	8	44
38	Arkansas	59.51	33	16	46	27
39	Mississippi	57.83	40	40	34	28
40	New Hampshire	57.66	30	29	40	51
41	Louisiana	57.23	43	32	38	39
42	Illinois	55.19	47	38	35	21
43	Pennsylvania	55.03	42	26	44	36
44	South Dakota	54.83	23	46	50	42
45	Michigan	54.78	45	39	39	41
46	Nebraska	52.71	41	49	22	45
47	North Dakota	52.57	46	36	47	4
48	Minnesota	50.77	48	48	43	3
49	Iowa	48.97	49	45	48	12
50	Wisconsin	32.31	50	50	51	49
51	District of Columbia	26.1	51	51	42	50

Source: WalletHub.com