economic equity and justice

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Source: U.S. Census Bureau and National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, 2018 Annual Business Survey, data year 2017.

What does this measure?

The number of businesses owned, broken down by race/ethnicity expressed as a percentage of all businesses.

Why is this important?

Business ownership plays a significant role in wealth creation and accumulation, and can help address the racial wealth gap in the U.S. while also creating jobs and stimulating the economy more broadly.

How is Norfolk County doing?

In 2017, a significant majority of businesses in Norfolk County were owned by white people (80.6%), compared to those owned by Asian (8%), Hispanic (1.3%) and African American (1.3%) people. Norfolk's share of Asian-owned businesses was similar to the state's (7.5%) and lower than the nation's (9.7%). Its share of Hispanic-owned businesses was similar to the state (1.9%) but lower than the nation (5.6%).

Among comparison counties, Norfolk had the highest percentage of businesses owned by African Americans, the second highest percentage of Asian-owned businesses behind Middlesex at 9.3%, and the smallest percentage of Hispanic-owned businesses.

Why do these disparities exist?

The lack of equal opportunities for wealth accumulation and systemic racism in the banking industry both contribute to these disparities. Would-be businesses owners of color have significantly less investment capital than their white peers due to historic discrimination in housing, a traditional method for accumulating personal wealth, and in the lending industry through both housing and corporate redlining.

Notes about the data

Annual Business Survey (ABS) data are sourced from a combination of responses to the survey, data from the economic census, and administrative records data. The ABS only include tabulations for employer businesses, which are businesses with paid employees. The Annual Business Survey uses the collection year (the year the survey was collected) in the survey name rather than the reference year (the year the survey collects data on).

Business Ownership, by Race/Ethnicity, 2017
AsianBlack or African AmericanHispanicWhite
Cambridge, Middlesex County9.2%2.2%2.0%66.2%
Everett, Middlesex County0.0%0.0%11.3%74.1%
Newton, Middlesex County11.4%0.0%0.0%73.1%
Norfolk County8.0%1.3%1.3%80.6%
Essex County6.0%0.8%3.4%83.6%
Middlesex County9.3%0.0%1.6%78.8%
Massachusetts7.5%1.4%1.9%83.2%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau and National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, 2018 Annual Business Survey, data year 2017.




Number of Businesses Owned, by Race/Ethnicity, 2017
AsianBlack or African AmericanHispanicWhite
Cambridge, Middlesex County28769622,053
Everett, Middlesex County0084551
Newton, Middlesex County314002,012
Norfolk County1,33721321913,548
Essex County95712053713,267
Middlesex County3,321055628,182
Massachusetts10,3721,8932,614115,546

Source: U.S. Census Bureau and National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, 2018 Annual Business Survey, data year 2017.






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