Source: Urban Institute

Date Published: 09.08.2025

Link:  Black Family Thriving: An Analysis of Wealth and Wealth Building in the South

The Urban Institute’s “Black Family Thriving” initiative seeks to provide a comprehensive understanding of the Black middle class’s experiences, moving beyond deficit-based models, with a particular focus on wealth building in the U.S. South. 

The study found that lower housing costs, strong community networks, and job growth in key industries can support wealth accumulation in the South. Black families in the South, have a slightly higher median wealth and a narrower racial wealth gap than in other regions, with homeownership making up a significant portion of their assets (56.6%).

However, substantial structural barriers persist. These include the legacy of enslavement, discrimination in education and civil rights, property loss due to “heirs’ property,” gentrification, and disproportionate student loan debt. State policies also undermine wealth building through low or no minimum wages, regressive taxation, eminent domain, contracting bias, and limited health care access, such as the lack of Medicaid expansion.