Waterloo-Cedar Falls, Iowa
Having a black population of 12,085 (7.1 per cent), this is the number one city identified as worst for black Americans, as no other U.S. metro area has larger social and economic disparities along racial lines than it.
The city’s black unemployment rate is 23.9 per cent while white unemployment figure is 4.4 per cent. Black metro area residents earn just 46.8 per cent ($25,897) of what white area residents earn, and are far more likely to be unemployed than white workers in the city.
It is significant to note that the area has suffered various major incidents that have sparked racial tension in recent years. The homeownership rate is 32.8 per cent for black residents and 73.2 per cent white.