At the Arizona Legislative Black Caucus meeting on March 18, 2024, chaired by Representative Quanta Crews, the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity outlined detailed data from the 2020 census about Black population and homeownership in Arizona.
Persons who identified in the category of “Black or African American alone” was 317,161. That totals 4.4% of the state population. Persons in the category “Some Other Race alone or Two or More Races” was 298,451. We do not know how many of those people define as Black also. To no one’s surprise, the county with the highest number of Blacks was Maricopa. The county with the highest percentage of Blacks was also Maricopa at 5.5% but Pinal was not far behind with 4.9%. Pima and Cochise tied next at 3.3%. From there, percentages dropped dramatically.
By legislative district, District 11 (south Phoenix) was the runaway highest with 37,596 or 16%. The next closest was District 22 (west Phoenix) with 23,955 or 9.8%. The least was District 6 (northern AZ and Navajo Nation) with only 1,907 or .9%.
Homeownership in Arizona is at 63.5% for people who identified as white only, but only 35.6% for those who identified as Black only – the lowest ownership rate for any group. The rate for “two or more races” was 59.4%.
Nationally the homeownership rate for Blacks is 41.5% so Arizona is below the national average.
In 2010 in Arizona, Black ownership was 39.3% so the community has lost ground in that decade. Blacks also lost ground nationally from 44.3% to 41.5%.
Compared to other states, Arizona ranks 28th in Black homeownership. Mississippi and South Carolina tie for first with 54% and the rest of the southern states are not far behind. The least Black homeownership rate is in the cold states with North Dakota being only 10%. The District of Columbia has the highest percentage of Blacks in their population at 41.4% with the southern states running from 36.6% in Mississippi to 15% in Arkansas. The lowest percentages are again in the cold states and Utah while Arizona ranks 34th.
Arizona just passed the Uniform Unlawful Restrictions in Land Records Act to allow homeowners to amend their titles to remove the unlawful restrictions prohibiting sales or rental to various categories of people named as: Negros, Chinese, Asian, Mexican, Jews or as in my own house deed – this house can be sold only to a Caucasian. The Horizon interviewer was shocked to find out these restrictions went on property as late as 1968 – not that long ago. Redlining was a deliberate act done by the FHA, title companies, real estate agencies, lenders, and home buyers to prevent people of color from buying a home, the common path to wealth for white Americans. The legacy of those actions is still seen today and is one of the reasons reparations is gaining support.