Table 2.

Definitions, data sources, and methods for calculation of the state racism index, 2019

Dimension	Measure	Description	Data source
Exposure risk	Dissimilarity Index	D = 1/2 SUM [blackpct—Whitepct] * 100, where blackpct is the proportion of the state’s Black population living in each block and Whitepct is the proportion of the state’s White population living in that block. Values are on a scale from 0 to100 with 100 being the most spacially segregated by race. It represents the percentage of Black people who would have to move in order to achieve an equal distribution of White and Black people across all blocks within a state	US Decennial Census, 2010
	Isolation Index	I = 100—(SUM((blackpct)*(proportionblack)) * 100), where blackpct is the proportion of the state’s Black population living in each block and proportion black is the proportion of people in that block who are Black. Values are on a scale from 0 to 100 with higher values representing higher levels of segregation. It can be interpreted as the probability a Black person does not share a block area with a White person or as the extent to which Black members of a block are exposed only to one another	US Decennial Census, 2010
	Segregation Index	Average of Dissimilarity Index and Segregation Index
Incarceration	Incarceration Index	Ratio of Black incarceration rate to White incarceration rate for each state. Converted to 0–100 scale	US Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics
Education	Education Index	Ratio of proportion of Black adults ages 25 + without a college degree to the proportion of White adults ages 25 + without a college degree for each state. Converted to 0–100 scale	2019 American Community Survey
Economic	Poverty Index	Ratio of proportion of Black people living under the poverty level to the proportion of White people living under the poverty level for each state. Converted to 0–100 scale	2019 American Community Survey
	Income Index	Ratio of White median annual household income to Black median annual household income for each state. Converted to 0–100 scale	2019 American Community Survey
	Rental Index	Ratio of proportion of Black people in rental housing to proportion of White people in rental housing for each state. Converted to 0–100 scale	2019 American Community Survey
	Economic Index	Average of Poverty Index, Income Index, and Rental Index
Employment	Labor Force Participation Index	Ratio of proportion of Black people not participating in the labor force to proportion of White people not participating in the labor force for each state. Converted to 0–100 scale	2019 American Community Survey
	Unemployment Index	Ratio of proportion of unemployment rate among Black people to the unemployment rate among White people for each state. Converted to 0–100 scale	2019 American Community Survey
	Employment Index	Average of Labor Force Participation Index and Unemployment Index
Overall State Structural Racism Index	Racism Index	Average of Segregation Index, Incarceration Index, Education Index, Economic Index, and Employment Index

Hispanic state racism index is calculated identically, except Hispanic population is substituted for non-Hispanic Black population