Race/Ethnicity, Citizenship, & Language

People of color are disproportionately more likely to struggle to cover basic needs due to the systemic effects of structural racism and oppression. Generally, income inadequacy rates increase if the householder was not born in the United States. Latine householders without citizenship have a threefold increase in income inadequacy than White, U.S.-born householders. While citizenship and English proficiency are associated with lower rates of income insecurity for immigrant households, they are not enough to bring income adequacy rates to the same level as U.S.-born citizens.

Figure C illustrates rates by the householder (see “Limitations” on page viii for issues with data disaggregation). In the working age population of New York City, 65% of Latine, 60% of American Indian, 58% of Black, 51% of Asian, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander, 48% of other or multiracial, and 32% of White householders struggle to make ends meet.18

Latine-headed households experience the highest levels of economic insecurity of all racial and ethnic groups in New York City—65% of Latine households struggle to make ends meet. This is more than double the income inadequacy rate of White households (32%). Examining Latine household data by identified country of origin reveals that certain Latine groups struggle at even higher rates. Figure D illustrates these disparities. Householders that have identified Mexico as their country of origin struggle with the highest rates of income inadequacy; 73% or nearly three fourths of Mexican-led households in New York City do not have enough to make ends meet. Dominican- and Central-American led households also struggle to make ends meet with 71% and 68% unable to cover the cost of basic needs. More than half of Puerto Rican and South American-led households are below the TCL, but are at levels less than the Latine category as a whole (65%).

Returning to the broader examination by race and ethnicity, American Indians in New York City have the second highest rate of income inadequacy of all race and ethnicity categories with 60% of all Native households struggling to make ends meet.

*The householder is the person (or one of the persons) in whose name the housing unit is owned or rented or, if there is no such person, any adult member, excluding roomers, boarders, or paid employees. Note: Latine refers to Hispanic/Latino ethnicity, regardless of race. Therefore all other racial/ethnic groups are non-Hispanic/Latino. See sidebar on page 12 for more details on race/ethnicity definitions. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2021 ACS 1-year Public Use Microdata Sample.