A new study ranks Waterloo as the worst city in America for African-Americans. The rankings are by 24/7 Wallstreet and published by USA Today. The statistics for black residents in the study are bad, but city leaders cite other data that shows progress is being made.

First, the bad news. The study showed that the median income for African-Americans in the Cedar Valley is only 47 percent of what white residents earn. The unemployment rate for black residents was 23.9 percent compared to 4.4 percent for white citizens. Homeownership among African-Americans was at 33 percent compared to 73 percent of white citizens.

Officials say that the numbers look bad because the date that was used was from 2012 through 2016. Census data from 2017 put the black unemployment rate at 10 percent. Yes, that is still higher than the white unemployment rate but much lower than the studies 23 percent.

Experts say that complaining about the numbers won't solve anything. The bottom line is that the study is a call to action for the community to work on it's issues.

 

[via KCRG]

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