Census Finds Blacks Gaining Income and Education, but Racial Gap Remains

Published March 26, 2012 by TNJ Staff
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censusBlacks in Madison County, Ala., are earning more and achieving a higher level of post-secondary education than they did in the past, but they still are lagging behind white residents, according to the 2010 census results.

Income

The median income of Black households in Madison County jumped 21 percent from 2000 to 2010, government records show, reaching $35,000.

The census found the racial income gap continued, however. White households saw their income grow from an average $50,000 in 2000 to nearly $63,000 a decade later. And while about 23 percent of Blacks in the county lived below the poverty level in 2010, just about 8 percent of whites did so.

Education

In Madison County, 25 percent of Black men older than 24 had four years or more of college in 2010. Black women did even better, with 32 percent having achieved this.

Both white men and white women, however, went even further in college. The census found 38 percent of whites 25 and older held at least bachelor?s degrees.

Population

In Madison County, Blacks made up 24 percent of the total population in 2010. Their numbers increased from a little more than 63,000 in 2000 to more than 80,000 a decade later.

Other Trends

The 2010 census found other differences between blacks and whites in Madison County. Blacks were younger and less likely to be homeowners. They more often lived with three or more generations of their family in one household and were more likely to have single mothers raising their children.

In Madison County, about 5 percent of Black households contained three or more generations; for whites, the figure was 2.5 percent. Nearly 30 percent of Black families consisted of a single mother with her children, compared to 6.4 percent of white families.

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TNJ Staff