The Median Net Wealth of Black Women Is $5

Question: What do $42,600 and $5 have in common?

Answer: they both represent the median net wealth of middle-aged American women. The only difference between the two numbers is race; while single white women from the ages of 36 to 49 have a median wealth of $42,600, single black women have a net wealth of just $5.

You read that right. The average net worth of middle-aged black women is just $5. And this statistic was drawn from the recently released 2007 Survey of Consumer Finances, which means that current post-recession figure could be even worse.

Before jumping into an explanation of this ridiculously low number, let me provide a quick note for the economically disinclined. Net wealth refers to "the total of one's assets -- cash in the bank, stocks, bonds and real estate; minus debts -- home mortgages, auto loans, credit cards and student loans." And a median is the middle number in a set of data, meaning that about half of single, middle-aged black women are worth more than five dollars and half are worth less.

So why is the net wealth of black women less than a fast food value meal? "The popular image is they spend too much, which is the reason they are running up credit card and consumer debt," explains Meizhu Lui, director of Oakland's Closing the Gap Initiative. "But the cost of living has risen faster than income, and they need to go into debt for basic daily necessities."

One such "necessity" is taking care of struggling friends and family members. A 2008 ING report found that over half of black women surveyed had loaned more than $500 to friends or family in the previous year. "Black women's sense of obligation to community and family is both extraordinary and commendable," stated ING president Rhonda Mims. "But when you are pulled in so many directions financially, something or someone has to pay the price." That "someone," unfortunately, is often the generous black woman herself.

And then there's the employment factor. Black women are the primary breadwinners in 44 percent of black families with children, as opposed to only 24 percent of women across all racial and ethnic lines. As a result, explains the American Prospect, "the gender wage gap and the lack of labor-market opportunities has a bigger impact on the economic well-being of black families than it does for other groups." Compound that with inequitable pay -- black women make 85 cents for every dollar earned by white women and only 63 cents per dollar paid to white men -- and an ongoing eviction epidemic, and black women have a crisis on their hands.

But Ms. Lui has hope. "Our government knows how to build wealth for people," she explains. "They've done it for others and they can do it for all of us." All they need is a push -- probably a big one -- in the right direction.

Photo credit: LateNightTaskForce