After some years of lagging the state and nation in job growth, Westchester County gained pace between 2021 and 2022, as total jobs increased 5.3%, similar to the state rate and slightly above the national rate of 4.8%.

Total jobs in Westchester County increased by 21% from 2001 to 2022, lower than the 24% increase for the state and the 28% increase for the nation. Westchester experienced the most job gains in Financial Activities (103%), Leisure and Hospitality (33%), and Professional and Business Services (24%). Over the same period, Information and Manufacturing jobs in the region both fell by 38% and 41%, respectively.

But opportunities aren’t available to all. Unemployment in Westchester County was highest among African American workers at 7.9% in 2018-22, followed by Hispanic workers at 6.7%, white workers at 5.3%, and Asian workers at 4.8%.

Business ownership in Westchester was also highly concentrated, with whites owning 79% of all businesses in 2017. Just 3% of businesses were owned by African Americans, 7.5% by Hispanics and 11% by Asians.

Median incomes in Westchester County were highest among Asian and white residents, at $162,400 and $135,500, respectively, in 2018-22, and lowest among Hispanic and African American residents, at $83,200 and $76,200, respectively. Females in Westchester earn, on average, 66 cents for every dollar earned by a male.

Westchester had an overall low poverty rate, at 9% in 2018-22, but poverty was higher among African American and Hispanic populations, at 16% and 13%.

These statistics all show the impact of a society that does not allow for full participation in the economy by people of color. While traditional explanations for employment rate disparities focus on education and training gaps, whites tend to be employed at higher rates than Blacks and other people of color at every education level (high school, some college, bachelor’s degree, etc.). This has led many researchers to focus on labor market discrimination as a primary cause of higher unemployment among people of color. African American workers across industries also tend to earn lower wages than their white and Asian American peers. The disproportionate and systemic incarceration of Black and Latinx males also plays a role.

Lower income leads to difficulty meeting basic needs. In Westchester County, 7% of households were food insecure in 2021, two percentage points lower than in 2013 and lower than the state and nation. However, participation in the federal nutrition assistance program (SNAP), was higher among African American (22%) and Hispanic (18%) households, compared to 5% of Asian and 4% of white households.

And when it comes to basic needs, housing in Westchester County is especially a challenge. With high housing costs and lower incomes among people of color, both renting and owning a home is more difficult.

In 2018-22, 50% of rental units in Westchester County were considered unaffordable for their residents. Rent consumed 36% of the income of African American households, compared to 32% of Hispanic, 26% of white and 25% of Asian household income in 2018-22.

Among homeowners, Westchester County homes were most unaffordable for Hispanic and African Americans. Measured as a ratio of home value to income, affordability was lowest for Hispanic homeowners (ratio of 5.7) and African Americans (5.3), followed by whites (4.1) and Asians (3.7).

It follows that homeownership rates were about half as high for African American residents (38%) and Hispanic residents (39%) as for white (74%) and Asian residents (69%).

And homelessness was much higher for African Americans in Westchester. In 2022, Westchester counted 913 homeless African American people, for a rate of 27.1 per 100,000 residents, nearly ten times the rate for whites, at 2.8, and more than triple the rate for Hispanics, at 7.8.

In addition to policies and structures that limit employment and income, people of color experience housing discrimination and have historically been prohibited from living wherever they want and steered or required to live in specific areas, often those that are less affluent and desirable.