In addition to gaining the nickname Hollywood of the South, the A can officially own its reputation as America’s black mecca.
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The city filled to the brim with scrumptious cuisine, top entertainment destinations and dozens of chances to rub elbows with celebrities has cemented is claim as a top city for African-American, thanks Forbes’ newest ranking.
The A tied with the Washington, D.C.-area for the No. 1 spot on Forbes magazine's 2018 list of cities where African-Americans are doing the best economically.
"Atlanta, with its historically black universities and strong middle class, has long been described as the black capital of America, and its thriving entertainment scene has given rise to claims that it's become a cultural capital as well," Forbes contributor Joel Kotkin wrote.
But there's more to Forbes' analysis than just arts and culture. Atlanta, like several Southern cities on the list, have become the primary landing spot for career-driven people of color. The city has also become an incubator for entrepreneurs.
“Entrepreneurship is strong, with some 20% of the metro area’s black working population self-employed, the highest proportion in the nation, and though median black household income is quite a bit lower than in the D.C. area at $48,161, costs are lower too. In-migration has slowed since the financial crisis, but the black population is still up 14.7% since 2010.”
The Forbes article notes that many areas across the country are beginning to make strides economically overall, so African-Americans have been able to ride that "economic tide.' The African-American unemployment rate dropped to 5.5% in September, which was the lowest level since the government labor report was established in 1972, according to a CNBC report.
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To come up with the ranking of where African-Americans are most financially affluent, Forbes evaluated 53 of the largest U.S. metropolitan statistical areas based on three critical indicators of middle-class success: the home ownership rate as of 2016; entrepreneurship, as measured by the self-employment rate in 2017; and 2016 median household income. In addition, the publication added a fourth category, demographic trends, measuring the change in the African-American population from 2010 to 2016 in these metro areas, to judge how the community is “voting with its feet.” Each factor was given equal weight.
Take a look at the magazine’s 2018 list of cities where African-Americans are doing the best economically
8. San Antonio, Texas (tie)
Median household income: $46,754
Home ownership rate: 44.3 percent
8. Houston (tie)
Median household income: $47,588
Home ownership rate: 41.4 percent
6. Charlotte, North Carolina, South Carolina
Median household income: $42,108
Home ownership rate: 41.6 percent
5.Raleigh, North Carolina
Median household income: $49, 433
Home ownership rate: 41.3 percent
4. Baltimore
Median household income: $53,231
Home ownership rate: 44.6 percent
3. Austin, Texas
Median household income: $49,871
Home ownership rate: 42.5 percent
1. Washington, D.C.-VA-MD-WV (tie)
Median household income: $69,246
Home ownership rate: 48.3 percent
1. Atlanta (tie)
Median household income: $48,161
Home ownership rate: 44.7 percent
Read more about how Forbes came up with the list here.
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