Where States See ‘Shared Success’ in Measures of Racial Equality | Best States

At first glance, Nebraska residents appear to be in relatively impeccable health. Between 2017 and 2021, more than 86% of adults in the Cornhusker State reported they were in good or better physical health, a share that places it among the top 10 U.S. states for that measure.

But a closer look unveils uneven well-being. While survey data shows nearly 88% of white adults in Nebraska experienced good or better health, the rate for Black Nebraskans was more than 10 percentage points lower, at just 77%. Wide gaps also exist when comparing the physical health status of both Hispanics and Indigenous people in Nebraska to that of either white or Asian residents of the state.

As a part of the Racial Equality in America project – an effort exploring the extent of disparities within key spheres of American society – U.S. News examined the overall performance of state populations across metrics in areas including health, education and the economy, in conjunction with the outcomes experienced by specific racial and ethnic groups in those same states.

States were ranked based on their overall performance within each metric, as well as on the average disparity across groups for that metric, helping to illustrate where communities may be getting left behind, but also shedding light on where residents of different backgrounds and heritage have experienced greater degrees of shared success. States with a lower disparity achieved a better disparity ranking – reflecting more equal outcomes – just as states with a stronger overall performance on a metric like physical health achieved a higher ranking for that metric.

Taken together, Nebraska’s disparities in physical health amount to it ranking 39th out of 42 states with sufficient data when it comes to equality in that area. Hawaii, meanwhile, is similar to Nebraska with a roughly 86% share of adults overall in good or better physical health. Yet it boasts a much smaller average disparity across racial and ethnic groups, placing it fifth among 42 states for equality in physical health.

In the health arena, specifically, assessing disparities is crucial to understanding patients and their experiences, says Dr. Laurie Zephyrin, senior vice president for advancing health equity at research-focused organization The Commonwealth Fund.

“You could generically look at data and have people say the health care system is great, but when you disaggregate the data, you may find that people identifying as women may not be receiving evidence-based care, or that people identifying with a certain race or ethnicity may not experience respect from their provider,” Zephyrin says. “You need to understand those nuances so that you know where and how to target solutions.”

Disaggregation has helped Zephyrin examine disparities across a number of health care metrics, specifically with respect to maternal health, cardiovascular health, life expectancy and premature death. She stresses that having good data is important when it comes to identifying problem areas and tracking effective solutions.

“We need to continue to use data to highlight where the disparities are and continue to put pressure on investment so we can all live in a society where everyone has equitable outcomes and the best health care possible,” Zephyrin says.

Across the five categories currently considered in the Racial Equality in America project – education, health, the economy, housing, and crime and safety – various states stand out as apparent examples of “shared success.”

Several states in the Northeast, including Vermont and Rhode Island, have experienced more shared success in timely college graduation rates, a measure of students who started and completed a bachelor’s or equivalent program within six years. Each is among the five states with the highest rates overall – at approximately 72% and 70%, respectively, based on a U.S. News analysis of data from the National Center for Education Statistics from 2017 to 2021 – and each also is among the five states with the lowest average disparity in graduation rates across racial and ethnic groups.

To be sure, these lower relative disparities don’t mean completely equal outcomes have been achieved. In Rhode Island, for example, Asian students have the highest timely college graduation rate of all assessable groups at about 82%, while the rate for Black students is nearly 62% – a spread of about 20 percentage points. Yet that rate for Black students is second in the U.S. among 46 states with available data, behind only Massachusetts’ 63%. Rhode Island is also in the top 10 for highest college graduation rates among both Hispanic and multiracial students.

At the same time, states such as Delaware, Michigan and Washington all have relatively high rates of timely college graduation, but also high average disparities among groups. In Delaware – where the overall graduation rate tops 68%, good for No. 12 in the country – rates also vary by nearly 40 points between Black students (41%) and white (79%) and Asian (80%) students.

When assessing success in education, states that lack equity also lack true success, says Bryan Cook, director of higher education policy in the Center on Education Data and Policy at nonprofit research organization the Urban Institute.

“I don’t think you can have success if not all of your students are succeeding equally,” Cook says. “Most schools have now recognized that success ultimately is tied hand in hand with equitable outcomes.”

Within the U.S. News analysis, a state’s overall performance on a metric typically did not correlate with its performance in terms of disparity. There were exceptions, though: Alabama, Mississippi and South Carolina were among the states with the lowest homelessness rates overall, for instance, and were also among the five states with the lowest disparity in homelessness rates across demographic groups.

Meanwhile, California, New York and Oregon were among the states with the highest homelessness rates, and each also had a high average disparity across racial or ethnic groups experiencing homelessness. For some groups in those states, rates exceeded 1,000 homeless people per 100,000 population – far above the U.S. average of 160 per 100,000.

Overall, such data can help guide decisions on where to best target resources so shared success can be achieved.

“We still have major inequities by race, ethnicity, gender. It just means that we have to be intentional and highlight where the inequities are,” Zephyrin says of addressing disparities in health care. “If you are designing an intervention or solution to an issue, and you are thinking about those most marginalized, then everybody benefits.”