Black Americans have a life expectancy of 71.7 years compared with 76.1 years for White Americans. Disability affects 38 percent of Black adults versus 26 percent of White adults. Unemployment stands at 8.7 percent for Black workers against 3.6 percent for White workers.
Key Takeaways
- 38% of U.S. Black adults have a disability compared with 26% of White adults (CDC BRFSS 2022)
- 13.5% of Black adults reported frequent mental distress compared with 7.3% of White adults (CDC BRFSS 2022)
- 42.4% of Black adults are obese compared with 36.2% of White adults (CDC NHANES 2017–2020)
- In 2023, the Black unemployment rate averaged 8.7% vs. 3.6% for White people (BLS, annual A-14)
- In 2023, labor force participation was 61.4% for Black people vs. 63.8% for White people (BLS A-2, annual averages)
- In 2023, median weekly earnings for Black women were $846 vs. $1,000 for White men (BLS CPS/SE, 2023)
- In 2022, Black venture-backed founders accounted for 1.0% of total venture deal volume and 1.8% of dollars invested (PitchBook 2022 report)
- In 2023, Black founders received 1.2% of venture capital dollars in the U.S. (PitchBook 2023 report)
- Black professionals represent 9% of the U.S. cybersecurity workforce (ISC2 workforce study 2024)
Black Americans face wide health, economic, and opportunity gaps, including lower life expectancy and less wealth.
Related reading
01 · Category
Health & Outcomes6 stats
01
38% of U.S. Black adults have a disability compared with 26% of White adults (CDC BRFSS 2022)https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db493.pdf
02
13.5% of Black adults reported frequent mental distress compared with 7.3% of White adults (CDC BRFSS 2022)https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7221a1.htm
03
42.4% of Black adults are obese compared with 36.2% of White adults (CDC NHANES 2017–2020)https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db440.pdf
04
5.5% of Black adults are current smokers compared with 15.6% of White adults (CDC BRFSS 2022)https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/resources/data/cigarette-smoking-in-united-states.html
05
Black Americans’ life expectancy at birth is 71.7 years vs. 76.1 years for White Americans (CDC provisional, 2021)https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db488.pdf
06
Black children are 2.6 times more likely to be diagnosed with asthma than White children (CDC 2018–2020 NHIS)https://www.cdc.gov/asthma/most_recent_national_asthma_data.htm
Interpretation
Health & Outcomes Interpretation
The Health and Outcomes data show major disparities in health burden, with Black adults facing higher rates of disability (38% vs 26%), frequent mental distress (13.5% vs 7.3%), and obesity (42.4% vs 36.2%) alongside lower life expectancy (71.7 vs 76.1 years), underscoring how systemic inequities translate into worse outcomes.
02 · Category
Labor & Economy8 stats
01
In 2023, the Black unemployment rate averaged 8.7% vs. 3.6% for White people (BLS, annual A-14)https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t04.htm
02
In 2023, labor force participation was 61.4% for Black people vs. 63.8% for White people (BLS A-2, annual averages)https://www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cpseea02.htm
03
In 2023, median weekly earnings for Black women were $846vs. $1,000 for White men (BLS CPS/SE, 2023)https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat39.htm
04
Black workers earned 74 cents for every $1earned by White workers on average in 2023 (BLS CPS)https://www.bls.gov/cps/earnings.htm
05
In 2022, the poverty rate for Black people was 19.9% vs. 7.9% for White people (U.S. Census Bureau SAIPE)https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2023/demo/p60-281.html
06
In 2023, the Black poverty rate was 20.3% (U.S. Census Bureau CPS ASEC)https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-poverty/cps-pov.html
07
In 2022, the homeownership rate was 42.1% for Black households vs. 74.1% for White households (U.S. Census Bureau)https://www.census.gov/housing/hvs/files/currenthvspress.pdf
08
In 2023, Black households had 0.10% of net wealth in 'financial assets' vs. 0.23% for White households (SCF 2022 wealth composition)https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/scfindex.htm
Interpretation
Labor & Economy Interpretation
In 2023, Black workers faced a clear labor and economy gap, with unemployment at 8.7% versus 3.6% for White people and poverty reaching 20.3%, even as median weekly earnings for Black women were $846 compared with $1,000 for White men.
More related reading
03 · Category
Industry Trends6 stats
01
In 2022, Black venture-backed founders accounted for 1.0% of total venture deal volume and 1.8% of dollars invested (PitchBook 2022 report)https://pitchbook.com/news/reports/state-of-diversity-and-inclusion-in-venture-capital-2022
02
In 2023, Black founders received 1.2% of venture capital dollars in the U.S. (PitchBook 2023 report)https://pitchbook.com/news/reports/diversity-2023-report
03
Black professionals represent 9% of the U.S. cybersecurity workforce (ISC2 workforce study 2024)https://www.isc2.org/Research/Workforce-Study
04
Black people made up 8% of U.S. STEM workers in 2022 (NSF SESTAT report)https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf23327/assets/nsf23327.pdf
05
Black students accounted for 14% of U.S. public college enrollment in fall 2022 (NCES)https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cge/black-students-enrollment
06
Black people accounted for 9% of STEM bachelor’s degrees awarded in 2020–21 (NSF)https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf24305/report/underrepresented-groups-in-stem
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
Industry trends show persistent underrepresentation of Black talent in high-growth and tech pipelines, with Black venture-backed founders at just 1.0% of venture deal volume in 2022 and receiving only 1.2% of U.S. venture capital dollars in 2023 even as Black people make up 9% of the cybersecurity workforce and 8% to 9% of U.S. STEM workers and STEM bachelor’s degree recipients.
report visual · Comparison
Black vs. White health disparities (percent)
Across multiple health indicators, Black adults report higher rates than White adults.
42.4% of Black adults are obese compared with 36.2% of White adults (CDC NHANES 2017–2020)42.4%
38% of U.S. Black adults have a disability compared with 26% of White adults (CDC BRFSS 2022)
38%
13.5% of Black adults reported frequent mental distress compared with 7.3% of White adults (CDC BRFSS 2022)
13.5%
5.5% of Black adults are current smokers compared with 15.6% of White adults (CDC BRFSS 2022)
5.5%
source-verifiedcdc.gov2022
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Margot Villeneuve. (2026, February 13). Black People Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/black-people-statistics
MLA
Margot Villeneuve. "Black People Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/black-people-statistics.
Chicago
Margot Villeneuve. 2026. "Black People Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/black-people-statistics.
Sources & references
20 datasets cited across this report
+12 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)