Economic Inequality

Over the past 40 years, blacks have made progress on several fronts. Yet large racial gaps persist in areas such as wealth and poverty.

As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office, the public has starkly different expectations about which groups in society will gain influence – and those that will lose influence – under his administration.

Black and Hispanic mortgage applicants are denied more frequently than whites and Asians, and when they do obtain mortgages they tend to pay higher rates.

Pew Research Center President Michael Dimock examines the changes – some profound, some subtle – that the U.S. experienced during Barack Obama’s presidency.

While the idea of raising the minimum wage is broadly popular, efforts to do so at the national level have stalled. We gathered key facts looking at the issue.

Homeownership in America stands at its lowest level in at least 20 years. The decline has been more pronounced among households headed by young adults, blacks and those in the lower income tier.

Although many middle-class areas voted for Barack Obama in 2008, they overwhelmingly favored Donald Trump in 2016, a shift that was a key to his victory.

Latinos made progress on household income, poverty and jobs in 2015 after years of little or no economic gains, but they have lagged in building personal wealth.

Broad economic concerns of rural white Americans aligned with cornerstones of the Trump campaign, and the gender gap played a key role in the 2016 narrative.

The share of people completing a college education differs by religion, with members of some faith groups much more educated, on average, than others.