Tracking the State of Opportunity (2009)
The State of Opportunity in America, 2009 documents America’s progress in protecting opportunity for everyone who lives here. By analyzing government data across a range of indicators, this update of our 2006 and 2007 reports assesses the state of opportunity for our nation as a whole, as well as for different groups within our society.
Opportunity is one of our country’s most cherished ideals and one of our most valuable national assets. The promise of opportunity inspires each generation of Americans–regardless of race, ethnicity, class, gender, or national origin–to strive to reach his or her full potential. Fulfilling this promise not only benefits each of us individually, but also society as a whole. We must therefore ensure that the doors of opportunity are open to all Americans as we work to move forward together.
The Opportunity Agenda views opportunity through the lens of our most deeply held values: Security, Equality, Mobility, Voice, Redemption, and Community. Our analysis indicates that different American communities often experience starkly different levels of opportunity. The report examines key indicators of opportunity, organized by these values.
You can also view the indicators, organized by value, here:
Security
Equality
Mobility
Redemption
Voice
Community
For suggestions on how best to discuss the report, click here.
The data from this report have been compiled primarily from federal sources and the report’s presentation has been designed to be worked directly into fact sheets, talking points, reports, and other tools. A few notes:
- As described above, this report measures opportunity through the lens of six core American values: Security, Equality, Mobility, Redemption, Voice, and Community. While each of the values cut across multiple issue areas, some advocates will find that those indicators relevant to them are concentrated in one or two value areas. For example, indicators relating to criminal justice are located in the Redemption section, but the Equality section also highlights ongoing disparities in the incarceration of populations of color.
- In most instances, the report examined how the nation fared, both overall and for groups, by using the most recent year for which government data were available, often from 2006 to 2007. However, for each indicator, the report clearly identifies the year and source for the data.
- The online version of the report will be updated throughout the year as new numbers come in, and indicators will be added as needed.
- The data and policy recommendations can be used to support and reinforce local information and action. For example, the data regarding wealth and income could provide national context to a local living wage campaign. Similarly, the policy recommendations could be a useful tool for state legislators looking to expand opportunity.
- For more information on the methodology used, click here.
Our Assessment of Opportunity for 2009
Examination of various indicators finds that access to full and equal opportunity is still very much a mixed reality. The nation has made great strides in increasing opportunity in some areas and for some communities, but many groups of Americans are being left behind in ways that hard work and personal achievement alone cannot address.
Key findings of this year’s report include:
- Income: Overall, individual median income increased by only 0.37%, or $98. However, one group—whites—took a meaningful step forward, increasing their income by 2.22%, or $633. The gender wage gap still persists. In 2007, women’s median income was 78.2% of men’s median income, reflecting no significant change from 2006. The race and ethnicity wage gap continues as well. The wage gaps between African Americans and whites and Latinos and whites increased during this time. In 2007, African American individual median income was 75.2% of white median income, and Latino individual median income was 72.6% of white median income.
- Education: The high school dropout rate increased by 3.8% for women from 2005 to 2006, and by 2.9% for African Americans, while decreasing by 3.3% for whites. Women still have a lower dropout rate than men, although the gender gap decreased due to a decrease in dropout rates for men and the increase for women. In terms of racial segregation in schools, which was examined over a longer period of time, K-12 public education segregation significantly decreased for white and American Indian students from 1993-1994 to 2005-2006, but significantly increased for African American, Latino, and Asian American students.
- Health Care: While the number of people without health insurance decreased overall and for most racial and ethnic groups, Asian Americans experienced an increase in uninsurance. Further, overall out-of-pocket health care costs increased by 4.3%, or $37, and the overall rate of Americans delaying medical care due to cost increased by 5.4%.
- Poverty: More women than men live in poverty, although the gender gap in poverty was fairly stagnant. The race and ethnicity poverty gap also persists—for example, African Americans experienced a poverty rate of 24.5%, compared with 8.2% for whites. The race and ethnicity poverty gap stayed fairly constant for some groups, while American Indians experienced a 19.1% decrease in the gap, and Latinos experienced a 4.4% increase in the gap.
The overall child poverty rate increased, as did the poverty rates for children of color. Poverty rates also increased for naturalized citizens and non-citizens. Additionally, although the percentage of people living in poverty who were full-time workers decreased overall and for most groups, the percentage of African Americans living in poverty who were full-time workers increased by 5.2%.
- Incarceration: The incarceration rate, not including those in local jails, is 506 people per 100,000, and the number of people in federal prison increased by 3.4%. The total number of immigrants incarcerated significantly increased, by 11.2%. The race and ethnicity gap in incarceration increased by 4.4% for African American men, but decreased by 2.7% for African American women and by 6.4% for Latinas.
