Data measuring the health of Greater Hartford communities finds increasing economic, racial disparities

A report unveiled Monday at the state Capitol in Hartford uses meticulously researched statistics to paint a bleak picture of life for the state’s less well-off citizens and people of color.

Connecticut has a high quality of life compared to other states, but the disparity between the haves and the have-nots has widened as a result of the COVID pandemic, especially affecting nonwhite residents, the report shows.

The disparities are “Connecticut’s greatest challenge and greatest shame,” said William Ginsberg, president and CEO of Community Foundation for Greater New Haven.

The research, compiled in the 2023 Community Wellbeing Indexes, focused on three of the most populous areas of the state: Greater Hartford, Greater New Haven and Fairfield County. Each region released its own report.

In Greater Hartford, median incomes in higher-income Hartford-area towns have increased by about 27% since 1980, while incomes in more racially diverse cities such as Hartford, East Hartford and New Britain haven’t changed much or have dropped.

Sixty-nine percent of West Hartford residents own homes, compared to more racially diverse towns: 25% in Hartford, 41% in New Britain and 58% in East Hartford. At the same time, Black and Latino mortgage applicants are much more likely to be rejected than white applicants.

“American families accumulate wealth primarily through homeownership, and housing accounts for over 40% of all household wealth in the United States,” the report states.

White residents are more than four times more likely to live in affluent neighborhoods than Black and Latino residents, and very few neighborhoods have both high incomes and high levels of diversity.

Regionwide, 20% of white residents report that they are “just getting by,” while that number jumps to 39% for Black residents and 37% for Latinos. The category of “negative net worth” cites 11% of white residents, 30% of Black and 19% of Latinos. Residents of majority non-white neighborhoods are more likely to have debt in collections, the data reveals.

The stats are regrettable, said Jay Williams, president and CEO of Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.

“It is difficult to look at the data here and not feel a sense of frustration, anger and sadness,” he said.

The Wellbeing Indexes were compiled by DataHaven, using surveys from about 9,000 Connecticut residents gathered by government bodies, health care workers, academia and nonprofit and philanthropic organizations.

The Indexes, the fourth in a series that started in 2013, were created with the collaboration of Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, Community Foundation for Greater New Haven and Fairfield County’s Community Foundation.

Williams added that the inequities in communities of color come after “decades of systemic factors and disinvestment rooted in racism.”

But the overarching goal of the data is hope and optimism. Ginsberg referred to the findings as “a call to action for those seeking a more equitable Connecticut.”

“Disparities are widening in our state, whether it be between cities and suburbs, between neighborhoods within cities and towns, or between white communities and communities of color,” he said. “The better we understand these disparities, the more effectively we can all work together to address the inequities.”

The data showed food insecurity in Black and Hispanic homes statewide increased when pandemic relief programs ended. At the same time, the cost of housing boomed, increasing more than 30% to buy a home and 20% to rent.

“From March 2020 to August 2021, the federal government imposed a moratorium on evictions. Since that moratorium was lifted, eviction filings have been rising,” the report states. “Renters in Hartford, East Hartford, and New Britain were several times more likely to face eviction than renters in outer suburban areas.”

Communities of color also are more likely to face discrimination. In the Hartford region, 16% of Black respondents, 13% of Latino and 4% of white have reported discrimination in accessing health care. In looking for work, 18% of Black residents, 13% of Latino and 7% of white residents report discriminatory experiences. Regarding interactions with police, 9% of Black, 12% of Latino and 3% of white respondents reported discriminatory behavior.

The economic health, or the lack thereof, of regions has a ripple effect, impacting educational success, college admissions, food access, access to transportation, access to health care, fun violence, feelings of safety, low birth weight and premature death.

The foundations sponsoring the research said all sectors of society must work together toward chipping away at the systemic disparities. The Hartford Foundation pointed to several bills currently in the General Assembly, focusing on the right to housing, affordable housing, transit-oriented communities, homelessness response, free school meals, grocery stores in food deserts, job recruitment and a full employment trust fund.

Read the full Greater Hartford, Greater New Haven and Fairfield County Wellbeing Index reports at ctdatahaven.org/reports.

Susan Dunne can be reached at sdunne@courant.com.