How Black Immigrants Are Changing the Black-White Earnings Gap – The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education

While the earnings gap between native-born Black and White Americans has persisted over time, second-generation Black immigrants, particularly women, have achieved earnings equal to or greater than White Americans in recent years, according to a new study from scholars at Rutgers University, Columbia University, and Waseda University in Japan.
The authors examined data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics from 1995 to 2024 regarding the earnings of three groups of Black individuals living in the United States: first-generation Black immigrants, Black Americans born in the U.S. to immigrant parents, and native Black Americans with parents born in the U.S.
Notably, second-generation Black women immigrants have made significant economic gains. In examining recent data from 2019 to 2024, the authors found that second-generation Black women average earnings higher than or equal to first-generation Black women immigrants, native Black American women, and White women. Among men, second-generation Black workers earn about 10 percent less than their White counterparts at the median level of income distribution, but the gap disappears among workers at the top 10 percent of income distribution.
According to the authors, these trends are largely driven by education and residential choices. Second-generation Black immigrants are more likely to have higher levels of educational attainment and live in areas with better schools, less crime, and better economic development. Based on these results, the authors believe future research on closing the Black-White income gap must address the systemic barriers in education and housing that are specifically facing native-born Black Americans.
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Gilliam Nii Lighter

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