Financial Health Pulse^® 2022 Chicago Report

Chicago is known as one of the most segregated cities in America, with pockets of both deep wealth and extreme vulnerability. Even compared with the country as a whole, the city’s legacy of race-based discrimination and decades of disinvestment and marginalization is extreme. Today, that legacy manifests in starkly different financial opportunities and realities for its citizens, falling largely along racial and ethnic lines. In partnership with The Chicago Community Trust, we examine the factors that contribute to financial health disparities among Chicagoans and residents of surrounding Cook County.

• • Cook County, including Chicago, demonstrates both greater financial health and greater financial vulnerability than the U.S. as a whole.
  • The disparities in financial health across race and ethnicity are dramatically larger in Cook County than in the U.S.
  • Black and Latinx households in Cook County are far less likely than white households to have access to wealth-building assets, yet are more likely to hold most kinds of debt than white households.
  • Black and Latinx people in Cook County are far more likely to be Financially Vulnerable than their counterparts nationwide.
  • Racial gaps in financial health of Cook County residents can’t be explained by household income alone.

Compared with national statistics, Cook County residents report greater challenges meeting monthly expenses, paying bills, and managing debt, and less confidence that they have appropriate protections via insurance. Residents also report experiencing high financial stress at more than twice the U.S. average (21% versus 10%).

Staggering numbers of Black and Latinx respondents reported that they are struggling to make ends meet. More than half of Black and Latinx respondents (59% and 52%, respectively) said that they are unable to pay all their bills on time. Almost 4 in 10 Black and Latinx residents (39% and 38%, respectively) reported that over the last year, they worried about running out of food.

• • Nationwide, 20% of Black people are considered Financially Vulnerable. In Cook County, the figure rises to 39% – nearly twice as high.
  • Nearly one-third of Latinx residents of Cook County (30%) are considered Financially Vulnerable, almost 1.5 times the same figure for counterparts across the country (21%).
  • One in three residents of the city’s South and West Sides, primarily home to communities of color, are Financially Vulnerable – a much higher figure than the predominantly white North Side.

* Statistically significant relative to the U.S. (p < 0.05).

This research was conducted in partnership with The Chicago Community Trust, with funding from the Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this piece are those of the Financial Health Network and do not necessarily represent those of our funders or partners. 

This report is part of the Financial Health Pulse research series. The Financial Health Pulse provides regular updates and actionable insights about financial health in America. The Financial Health Pulse is supported by the Citi Foundation, with additional funding from Principal Foundation.