Blacks, Asian and Latino Americans are much more likely to prioritize financially taking care of family members than the population as a whole, according to Prudential Financial.
For instance, nearly 70 percent of foreign-born Asian Americans said they consider it a priority to take care of parents and other family members, and approximately 58 percent of domestically born Asian Americans agreed.
Only about 45 percent of the population as a whole said they prioritized family.
Likewise, blacks and Latinos placed a higher priority on family than the general population, according to a recent study by Prudential Financial, “The Cut: Exploring Financial Wellness Within Diverse Populations.”
The report, which included 3,013 people aged 25 to 70, reported on the differences in financial circumstances and feelings based on race, gender, sexual identity and caregiver status as part of the Prudential Wellness Census. The report reveals differences among the various populations with some “bright spots” for the traditionally underserved groups, Prudential said.
Some of the differences among the groups included the fact that Asian Americans had the highest median household income of the groups at $81,331, 19 percent higher than the median for non-Latino whites. “This could be due to foreign-born Asians skewing older as well as immigration regulations favoring highly-skilled immigrants,” Prudential said.
Asian Americans are also more likely to be employed than the general population, the report said.
For blacks, a difference is revealed in the percentage who are financially optimistic. Almost three-quarters of black Americans whose household incomes are above $60,000 annually are confident they will be able to meet their financial goals. So are two-thirds of lower-income black Americans with household incomes below $60,000. This made them significantly more optimistic than the general population, where only about two-thirds of all higher-income and about half of lower-income members felt the same way, Prudential said.
The optimism seems to be warranted for black Americans who are Gen Xers, the generation following baby boomers. Nearly half of the higher income blacks are part of Gen X.
Despite their optimism, the dream of home ownership for black Americans remains elusive, Prudential said. Only 33 percent of black Americans own their own homes, versus 58 percent of the population as a whole. Black Americans, who are understood to have been disproportionately impacted by risky subprime loans during the 2008 financial crisis, are generally more likely to live in big cities and suburbs, where higher housing costs may put homeownership even further out of reach, the survey aid.