Chicago’s large demographic groups can be described in terms of thirds: Whites, Blacks, and Latinos each make up about one third of the population (32%, 31%, and 29%, respectively) with nearly 6% of the population being Asian Americans. Though Blacks, Latinos and Whites are about equally represented in population, their outcomes are far from equal, particularly with respect to housing. Only one-third of Black households own their homes, and a little more than 40% of Latinos compared to 54% of White households. Furthermore, over half of Black (51%) and Latino (58%) homeowners are cost-burdened [do we need to define this term?] compared with 36% of White homeowners. Although less burdened than African Americans and Latinos, 46% of Asian Americans are cost-burdened owners –still a significant proportion compared to Whites. Among renters, 63% of Black households, 56% of Latino households and 49% of Asian American households are cost-burdened compared with 42% of White households. These stark racial boundaries transcend real estate and have had far-reaching implications on whole communities’ access to healthcare, financial services, and, especially, education.In Chicago, these boundaries have led to educational outcomes that are far worse than the nation. While the story of unequal access to services is not dissimilar from those of other US cities, the rigidity of Chicago’s racial boundaries is what sets the city apart. Without intentional efforts to ensure equitable access tosuch services as education, housing, healthcare, and banking, the city is at risk of continuing along the path of racial inequality and segregation.
For the African American community which constitutes almost a third of Chicago’s population, unemployment is at 21%, far above the national average for African Americans at 9.5% in 2015.