According to the results of a survey by the Pew Research Center, “Nearly half of U.S. voters (46 percent) expect Donald Trump’s election to lead to worse race relations… By contrast, after Barack Obama’s election eight years ago, 52 percent of voters expected race relations to improve.”
That tidbit is part of a new report from WalletHub measuring racial progress in the U.S.
To coincide with the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, WalletHub’s analysts measured” the gaps between blacks and whites in 16 key indicators of equality and integration for each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.”

Data sets included “median annual income,” “standardized test scores” and “voter turnout.”
Here’s some highlights of how Hawaii fares:
- 1st – Median Annual Income Gap
- 2nd – Labor-Force Participation Rate Gap
- 7th – Unemployment Rate Gap
- 1st – Poverty Rate Gap
- 1st – Business Ownership Rate Gap
- 1st – Gap in percentage of Residents with at Least a High School Diploma
- 1st – Standardized-Test Scores Gap
We also rank No. 44 in health.
Idaho and Texas follow Hawaii in terms of racial integration. Minnesota and Wisconsin rank at the bottom.
Another WalletHub analysis measures the level of racial progress achieved over time. Hawaii is in the middle of the pack, Georgia is No. 1 and Maine is No. 51.
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About the Author
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Chad Blair is the politics editor for Civil Beat. You can reach him by email at cblair@civilbeat.org or follow him on X at @chadblairCB.