WalletHub Names Hawai’i Most ‘Racially Integrated State’

File image by Malika Dudley.

Personal finance website WalletHub recently released a study on 2016’s States That Have Achieved the Most Racial Progress, with Hawai’i ranking in the top spot as the most racially integrated.

WalletHub conducted the study in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who will be nationally celebrated on Monday.

Study researchers say America has come a lot closer to realizing Dr. King’s vision, which he shared during his famous 1963 “I have a Dream” speech.

Hawai’i ranked first and ninth on two key dimensions the study was based upon: “Employment & Wealth” and “Education & Civic Engagement” rank, respectively.

Not only did Hawai’i rank high in the study’s key dimensions, but also in various aspects of the study’s 10 key metrics.

The state took the top spot with lowest gaps in the labor-force participation, poverty rate, business ownership rate, and NAEP test scores metrics.

Hawai’i ranked second when it came to the median income and ranked eighth for both the lowest unemployment rate and percentage gap of residents who have at least a high school diploma.

WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 10 key metrics to measure the current integration level and racial progress over time. Two key dimensions were emphasized under the metrics: “Employment & Wealth” and “Education & Civic Engagement.”

The study compares black and white groups, despite the equality and integration of all racial minorities, “in light of the recent events that have caused racial tensions to resurface at high level in the U.S. and the historical fact that the Civil Rights Movement – in which Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., played a prominent role – primarily involved black and white groups,” according to study officials.

New Mexico, Texas, Maryland and California rounded out the top five states ranked as the most racially integrated.

Rankings Based on Racial Integration: