The Applied Population Laboratory has recently completed a statewide report highlighting data on African Americans in Wisconsin.  The new report can be found here:

http://www.apl.wisc.edu/publications/AfricanAmerican_Chartbook_2014.pdf

The report presents demographic information on the state’s African American population.  The report relies on data from the 2010 Census and estimates from the American Community Survey (ACS) to create a statistical portrait of African Americans in Wisconsin and draw comparisons with Wisconsin’s total population in a series of charts, maps, and tables.  Thematically the report focuses on demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the African American population such as size and distribution, age structure, composition of households and families, education, income and poverty, employment, housing, and health care.  In a few instances, the report includes time-series data with the results of earlier Censuses.  To supplement Census and ACS data sources, the report also draws on data from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and Department of Public Instruction.

Some key findings:

– In the 2006-2010 period the median housing unit value for owner occupied units was $50,000 less for African Americans than for the total population.

– In 2010 homeownership among African Americans was less than half that of the total population (32% versus 68%)

– In 2014, median household income for African Americans was less than half that of the total population ($26,000 versus $53,000).

-The proportion of the African American population in poverty in 2014 was approximately 3 times that of the total population (38% versus 13%).