Inequity Within: A Local Equity Analysis

Howard County Library System’s Inequity Within report presents data and shows local history of racial inequity and its ongoing impact on education, health, housing, and criminal justice in Howard County and the state of Maryland.

This report provides an overview of racial equity across education, healthcare, housing, economic, and legal systems within Howard County, Maryland. As one of the wealthiest, healthiest and most diverse communities in the state and the US, the perception or belief that racial inequity does not exist here can be a hinderance to advancing issues of equity within the county.

This report demonstrates that even in a county where the majority of residents appear to be thriving, there are communities and subgroups that do not fully reap the benefits of residing here.

Summary

• Non Hispanic Black residents were anywhere from 1.5-11 times  more likely to fare worse than Non Hispanic White residents.
• Hispanic residents were 1.5-7 times more likely to fare worse than Non Hispanic White residents.
• Asian residents were more likely to have similar or better outcomes than NH White residents across education and legal systems, they fared worse in housing, health and economic outcomes.
  Read full Summary in the report

Limitations

• Within this report most of the data used was in the aggregate, drawn from other data reports, and not in a raw data format.
• Depending on the way the data was reported some comparison charts and tables may not include data for all groups.
• We recognize that inequities exist across multiple demographic groups including age, gender, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status and often intersect. This intersectional analysis has not been done and so leaves room for further in-depth inquiry.
  Read full limitations in the report