Despite the overall decline in the poverty rate for Black individuals, racial inequalities persist.
Figure 3 looks at six race and Hispanic origin groups. Comparing the share of a particular group in poverty to that group’s share of the total population shows whether they are underrepresented or overrepresented in poverty.
Groups with ratios of less than 1.0 are underrepresented (their share in poverty is lower than their share of the population), while groups with ratios greater than 1.0 are overrepresented (their share in poverty is higher than their share of the population).
For example, Black individuals made up 20.1% of the population in poverty in 2022 but only 13.5% of the total population. This results in a ratio of 1.5, meaning that the Black population was overrepresented in poverty.
The Hispanic population was also overrepresented in poverty (ratio of 1.5). Ratios for the Black and Hispanic populations were not statistically different from one another.
The American Indian and Alaska Native population (ratio of 2.2) was the most overrepresented in poverty.
Non-Hispanic White and Asian individuals were underrepresented in poverty, both with a ratio of 0.8, not statistically different from one another.
The ratio for the Two or More Races population was not statistically different from 1.0, meaning that this group was neither over- nor underrepresented in poverty.
