Worst U.S. Cities for Black Americans to Live in 2025: The United States is comprised of some cities that are harder places for Black Americans to live. These cities have big problems. There are high poverty rates. Income gaps between black and white persons are large. Schools are not good. Jobs may not pay enough. Additionally, there are more people of Black skin in jail living in these cities.
Problems in These Cities
The distinction exists in many cities: Black people earn much less than white people. Life gets more difficult due to the wage gap. That means a smaller number of times you have a chance to save money. This also means having less money to spend on having a school or a home.
An added problem is poverty. In the worst of the cities, more than 30 per cent of Black residents live in poverty. By not having it, they do not have enough money for basic needs. Coffey finds it hard to pay for food, rent, and health care.
Education is another issue. Both Blacks and whites in these cities attend low-quality schools, and many of the Black children attend these schools. Later on, it is harder to get a good job if it’s difficult to go to good schools. Education is important to a better future, but not always fair or equal.
1. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Black Americans are among the worst off in Milwaukee. The income gap is large. Black families make about half as much as white families. Nearly 40% of Black people at home in poverty. The schools in Milwaukee also struggle.
Its high unemployment rate is among Blacks. In that, many Black people are looking for jobs but aren’t finding them. In jail, black people are also more likely. This has been a case of ongoing problems for years.
2. Minneapolis, Minnesota
The list also includes Minneapolis. Here, George Floyd was killed in 2020. That exposed how police treat Black people. The problems go far beyond the police. Less is earned by black families than white families in Minneapolis. The gap is wide.
Black residents are also unemployed. Less is done to close the gap at the school level. The black community of this city needs serious changes.
3. Peoria, Illinois
Another place where Black people face many struggles is in Peoria. Black families earn very low incomes. The poverty rate is over 30%. Black people do not own homes, and jobs don’t pay well. As a result, it becomes harder to build wealth.
In Peoria, there is a very low percentage of Black adults who have a college degree. This adds to the problem. Without an education, my mother had trouble finding a better job.
4. Racine, Wisconsin
Racine has some of the same problems as Milwaukee does. Incomes are low. Poverty is high. Residence is segregated by black and white. Racine is not small when it comes to problems.
As often as Black kids in Racine attend school, its schools are underfunded. It will not help in their later life. Many Black families don’t make ends meet.
5. Waterloo-Cedar Falls, Iowa
Waterloo has the greatest unemployment gap of any country. White people have an unemployment rate of 3% or less; the number is about 15% for Blacks.
One-third of Black residents are in poverty. Black homeownership is very low. However, these numbers are only for a small city and large problems. Essentially, many Black families in Waterloo have no love for the system.
6. Danville, Illinois
Danville, Illinois, is also very taxing on black people. The median income for a black household is just over $26,000. Only about 4.3% of black adults had a college degree.
Unemployment is also very high. About 16 percent of Danville’s Black people last year couldn’t get a job there. However, the homeowner rates are high among white residents, and the rates of unemployment are relatively low.
7. Rochester, New York
There are some of the biggest education gaps in the country in Rochester. Black adults have only 14% with a college degree compared to almost 40% of white adults.
Black households earn about $32,000 annually, white households $66,000. There is an over 12% unemployment rate for Black residents. Less than 32 percent of Blacks in Rochester are homeowners.
8. Trenton-Princeton, New Jersey
Though Black incomes in Trenton lag a little behind other cities, the income gap is immense. It is also more than double the amount earned by white households.
There is also a big problem with unemployment. There are nearly 11.1 percent of Black residents out of work, compared to 4.4 percent of white residents. Only 18.4 percent of Black adults have a bachelor’s degree.
Conclusion
Many cities across the U.S. are hard places for Black Americans to live. Milwaukee, Peoria, Minneapolis, and others have wide income gaps, poor schools, and high unemployment. Cities like Danville, Rochester, and Springfield show that problems are not just in big cities. Even small places can have deep inequality.
