Homeownership Racial Disparity in Washington
Washington
Explore national- and state-level data for hundreds of health, environmental and socioeconomic measures, including background information about each measure. Use features on this page to find measures; view subpopulations, trends and rankings; and download and share content.
Washington Value:
37.0
Difference between the homeownership rates of the white population and the racial/ethnic population with the lowest rate (varies by state)
Washington Rank:
33
Homeownership Racial Disparity in depth:
Additional Measures:
Explore Population Data:
Appears In:
Homeownership Racial Disparity by State
Difference between the homeownership rates of the white population and the racial/ethnic population with the lowest rate (varies by state)
Homeownership Racial Disparity in
Data from U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2022
<= 27.9
28.0 - 32.6
32.7 - 35.1
35.2 - 41.1
>= 41.2
Homeownership Racial Disparity
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2022
About Homeownership Racial Disparity
US Value: 28.9
Top State(s): Mississippi: 22.1
Bottom State(s): Maine: 48.8
Definition: Difference between the homeownership rates of the white population and the racial/ethnic population with the lowest rate (varies by state)
Data Source and Years(s): U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2022
Suggested Citation: America's Health Rankings analysis of U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, United Health Foundation, AmericasHealthRankings.org, accessed 2024.
Housing is essential to overall health and well-being. Racial segregation and mortgage discrimination have historically kept Black Americans from purchasing houses; these issues persist today. Black residents face significant barriers to becoming homeowners due to the lasting effects of segregation laws on generating personal wealth. Research shows that 1 in 6 Black mortgage applicants are rejected when applying for a mortgage, compared with 1 in 14 white applicants.
Homeownership provides a sense of stability and safety by preventing frequent moves and minimizing the financial burdens associated with renting. Additionally, homeownership plays an important role in wealth accumulation. Wealth is a major determining factor of health, and income inequality remains a significant public health issue. Low-income households, in particular, may accumulate wealth more successfully through homeownership than through other means.
According to America’s Health Rankings data, the largest racial and ethnic disparities in homeownership are among:
- Black and Hawaiian/Pacific Islander adults, who have the lowest rates of homeownership compared with white adults, who have the highest rate of homeownership.
Given the depth and complexity of the structural racism behind wealth inequality, addressing racial disparities in homeownership requires a multi-pronged approach. Policy recommendations to close racial gaps in homeownership include:
- Increasing support for mortgages for lower-value homes.
- Expanding financial subsidies for down payments to increase purchasing power among low-income minority households.
- Adopting less discriminatory credit scoring practices so Black individuals can build their credit scores.
- Increasing diversity in the appraisal profession.
- Expanding government grants that finance affordable home construction.
Strategies to ensure greater access to homeownership include:
- Providing information and knowledge about homebuying, especially among low-income and racial/ethnic minority households.
- Expanding financial support for low-income and minority homeowners like housing reparations, especially during the pandemic, to prevent them from transitioning back to renting.
- Enforcing fair housing laws to protect racial/ethnic minority buyers from discrimination.
Healthy People 2030 identifies housing instability as a key issue within the Economic Stability domain of the other social determinants of health.
Boehm, Thomas P., and Alan Schlottmann. “Wealth Accumulation and Homeownership: Evidence for Low-Income Households.” Cambridge, MA: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, December 2004. https://www.huduser.gov/publications/pdf/wealthaccumulationandhomeownership.pdf.
Herbert, Christopher E., Shannon Rieger, and Jonathan Spader. “Expanding Access to Homeownership as a Means of Fostering Residential Integration and Inclusion.” In A Shared Future: Fostering Communities of Inclusion in an Era of Inequality. Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, 2017. https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/media/imp/a_shared_future_expanding_access_to_homeownership_fostering_inclusion.pdf.
Krisberg, Kim. “Income Inequality: When Wealth Determines Health: Earnings Influential as Lifelong Social Determinant of Health.” The Nation’s Health 46, no. 8 (October 2016): 1–17.
https://www.thenationshealth.org/content/46/8/1.1.
Ray, Rashawn, Andre M. Perry, David Harshbarger, Samantha Elizondo, and Alexandra Gibbons. “Homeownership, Racial Segregation, and Policy Solutions to Racial Wealth Equity.” The Brookings Institution, September 1, 2021. https://www.brookings.edu/essay/homeownership-racial-segregation-and-policies-for-racial-wealth-equity/.
Rolfe, Steve, Lisa Garnham, Jon Godwin, Isobel Anderson, Pete Seaman, and Cam Donaldson. “Housing as a Social Determinant of Health and Wellbeing: Developing an Empirically-Informed Realist Theoretical Framework.” BMC Public Health 20, no. 1 (December 2020): 1138. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09224-0.
Current Reports
America’s Health Rankings builds on the work of the United Health Foundation to draw attention to public health and better understand the health of various populations. Our platform provides relevant information that policymakers, public health officials, advocates and leaders can use to effect change in their communities.
We have developed detailed analyses on the health of key populations in the country, including women and children, seniors and those who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces, in addition to a deep dive into health disparities across the country.
