Income & Health Insurance

February 27, 2008

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Profile America for the 27th day of Black History Month. The progress of any segment of the U.S. population can be measured in many ways. One of them is financial health. Recent figures show that the annual median income for African-American households is just under $32,000. This is up from $26,500 in 1986. In the same period, the proportion of blacks living below the poverty line dropped from 31 percent to just over 24 percent. On the other hand, the percentage of African-Americans who lack health insurance is 20.5 percent, up from 19 percent in one year. This special edition of Profile America for Black History Month is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.