Poverty
Poverty has always been a challenge for the Black community. Although poverty conditions for Black America have improved, the rates are still staggering when compared to that of all Americans.  44% of single mother Black families are living in poverty compared to only 8 percent of married-couple Black families.
POVERTY RATES .
PERCENTAGE IN POVERTYBlacks   all races
All families      
With related children under 18 years
Married-couple families     
With related children under 18 years
Families with female householder,
    no husband present
With related children under 18 years
All people (individuals)
People in families
Unrelated individuals,
   15 years and over
23%10%
30%15%
  8% 5%
10%  7%

37%29%
44%38%
25%13%
24%11%

32%23%
Housing
Many working class Black Americans struggle to obtain affordable housing.  53% of Blacks, who rent pay more than 30% of their income for their rent. 30% is the recommended threshold that a family should pay for housing costs. This leaves many families to make ends meet.
HOUSING TENUREBlack    (all races)
Owner-occupied housing units 
Renter-occupied housing units 

UNITS IN STRUCTURE
1-unit, detached or attached    
2 to 4 units      
5 or more units 
Mobile home, boat, RV, van, etc.

SELECTED MONTHLY OWNER COSTS AS A PERCENTAGE OF HOUSEHOLD INCOME IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS
Less than 30 percent
30 percent or more  

OWNER CHARACTERISTICS
Median value (dollars)  

GROSS RENT AS A PERCENTAGE OF HOUSEHOLD INCOME IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS
Less than 30 percent
30 percent or more  

GROSS RENT
Median gross rent (dollars)     
46%67%
54%33%


56%68%
13% 8%
27% 7%
4%   6%



60%72%
40%28%


$116,500 $167,500



47%54%
53%46%


$686$728
Vehicles
20% of African Americans do not own an automobile while 91% of all Americans do.
VEHICLES AVAILABLE

Black (all races)
None 20%9%
1 or more  79%91%
Households
Of the 111,090,617 households in America 13,510,703 are Black households. As you can see by the chart, Blacks have 20% fewer married couples and more than twice as many single parent families households than the average American household.
Average Black household size 2.65(all races) 2.6
Average Black family size 3.34. (all races) 3.18
Black Household Chart
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Housing and Poverty
*All statistics used here are from the US Census Bureau 2005 American Community Survey, unless otherwise noted
Use this menu to find out more about African American statistics

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