The Dayton metro area also showed a slight narrowing of income inequality between whites and blacks, though the gulf continues to be wide. A black household’s median income is currently estimated at $29,726 compared to a white household’s $54,480.
The annual equality index measures how blacks fare relative to whites in areas of economics, health, education, social justice and civic engagement. Using whites as a benchmark, blacks fall about 28 percent short, according to the researchers. The report also studied Hispanics, finding a 20 percent shortfall to whites.
Metro areas in Texas, California, Nevada and Florida rated most equal in terms of unemployment. No Ohio city made the top half of the list. Columbus (41), Akron (51), Cincinnati (54), Cleveland (68) and Toledo (70) all fared poorer than Dayton (40).
Columbus made the top half of the rankings in income equality, ranking 31st, followed by Dayton at 39 out of the 71 metro areas.
Below are the measures which include the top and bottom five metro areas for each and data for Ohio cities.
Metro area unemployment equality from most to least equal
| 2017 Rank | Metro Area | Black Rate | White Rate | Black-White Index | 2016 Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | 6.4 | 4.5 | 70.3% | 6 |
| 2 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | 12.8 | 8.8 | 68.8% | 5 |
| 3 | Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV | 11.6 | 7.9 | 68.1% | 10 |
| 4 | Jacksonville, FL | 9.4 | 6.4 | 68.1% | 13 |
| 5 | Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | 8.4 | 5.5 | 65.5% | 15 |
| 40 | Dayton, OH | 13.1 | 5.7 | 43.5% | 61 |
| 41 | Columbus, OH | 10.7 | 4.6 | 43.0% | 51 |
| 51 | Akron, OH | 12.8 | 5.1 | 39.8% | 58 |
| 54 | Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | 11.7 | 4.5 | 38.5% | 63 |
| 67 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | 16.2 | 4.7 | 29.0% | 65 |
| 68 | Cleveland-Elyria, OH | 17.6 | 4.7 | 26.7% | 69 |
| 69 | Rochester, NY | 17.3 | 4.5 | 26.0% | 67 |
| 70 | Toledo, OH | 20.7 | 4.9 | 23.7% | 66 |
| 71 | Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI | 13.8 | 2.7 | 19.6% | 70 |
Metro area income equality from most to least equal
| 2017 Rank | Metro Area | Black Income Dollars* | White Income Dollars* | Black-White Index | 2016 Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | 44,989 | 62,249 | 72.3% | 1. |
| 2. | San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | 49,163 | 68,665 | 71.6% | 6. |
| 3. | San Diego-Carlsbad, CA | 52,616 | 76,347 | 68.9% | 3. |
| 4. | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | 35,256 | 51,989 | 67.8% | 4. |
| 5. | Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL | 32,798 | 48,590 | 67.5% | 2. |
| 31. | Columbus, OH | 36,005 | 64,118 | 56.2% | 33. |
| 39. | Dayton, OH | 29,726 | 54,480 | 54.6% | 44. |
| 58. | Cleveland-Elyria, OH | 29,238 | 59,889 | 48.8% | 67. |
| 59. | Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI | 28,840 | 59,136 | 48.8% | 66. |
| 60. | Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | 29,989 | 62,217 | 48.2% | 68. |
| 61. | Akron, OH | 26,908 | 56,751 | 47.4% | 48. |
| 67. | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | 34,937 | 76,869 | 45.5% | 62. |
| 68. | Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI | 28,947 | 65,862 | 44.0% | 69. |
| 69. | Toledo, OH | 23,693 | 54,181 | 43.7% | 64. |
| 70. | San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA | 45,678 | 105,128 | 43.4% | 65. |
| 71. | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 31,672 | 76,581 | 41.4% | 70. |
*Median household income, 2015 dollars
Source: Census ACS 2015 1 year estimates (2017 Metro Index) and ACS 2014 1 year estimates (2016 Metro Index)
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