Key Data on Health and Health Care by Race and Ethnicity

Racial and ethnic disparities in health and health care remain a persistent challenge in the United States. The COVID-19 pandemic’s uneven impact on people of color drew increased attention to inequities in health and health care, which have been documented for decades and reflect longstanding structural and systemic inequities rooted in historical and ongoing racism and discrimination. KFF’s 2023 Survey on Racism, Discrimination, and Health documents ongoing experiences with racism and discrimination, including in health care settings. While inequities in access to and use of health care contribute to disparities in health, inequities across broader social and economic factors that drive health also play a major role. Since taking office, the Trump administration has implemented policies that may erode progress addressing disparities in health and health care, including eliminating equity-related initiatives, reducing federal data collection and reporting, increasing and expanding immigration enforcement, and restricting immigrant access to coverage and health and social supports. Moreover, changes in the 2025 tax and spending law are anticipated to large coverage losses, which will likely exacerbate disparities.

Data are key for identifying disparities and the factors that drive them, developing interventions and directing resources to address them, as well as for assessing progress and establishing accountability. This analysis examines how people of color fare compared to White people across 64 measures of health, health care, and social and economic factors that drive health using the most recent data available from federal surveys and administrative sets as well as the 2023 KFF Survey on Racism, Discrimination, and Health, which provides unique nationally-representative measures of adults’ experiences with racism and discrimination, including in health care (see About the Data).

Where possible, we present data for six groups: White, Hispanic, Black, Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native (AIAN), and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander (NHPI). People of Hispanic origin may be of any race, but we classify them as Hispanic for this analysis. We limit other groups to people who identify as non-Hispanic. When the same or similar measures are available in multiple datasets, we use the data that allow us to disaggregate for the largest number of racial and ethnic groups. Unless otherwise noted, differences described in the text are statistically significant at the p<0.05 level.

We include data for smaller population groups wherever available. Instances in which an estimate has a 95% confidence interval width greater than 20 percentage points or 1.2 times the estimate may not be reliable and are noted in the figures. Although these small sample sizes may impact the reliability, validity, and reproducibility of data, they are important to include because they point to potential underlying disparities that are hidden without disaggregated data. For some data measures throughout this brief we refer to “women” but recognize that other individuals also give birth, including some transgender men, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming persons.

Hispanic, Black, and AIAN people fare worse than White people across the majority of examined measures of health and health care and social determinants of health (Figure 1). Black people fare better than White people for some cancer screening and incidence measures, although they have higher rates of cancer mortality. Despite worse measures of health coverage and access, and social and economic factors, Hispanic people fare better than White people for some health measures, including life expectancy, some chronic diseases, and most measures of cancer incidence and mortality. These findings may, in part, reflect variation in outcomes among subgroups of Hispanic people, with better outcomes for some groups, particularly recent immigrants to the U.S. Examples of some key findings include:

• Among people under age 65, AIAN (19%) and Hispanic (18%) were more than twice as likely as their White counterparts (7%) to be uninsured as of 2023.
• Among adults with any mental illness, Hispanic (44%), Black (39%), and Asian (33%) adults were less likely than White adults (58%) to receive mental health services as of 2024.Roughly, six in ten Hispanic (65%), AIAN (65%), and Black (58%) adults went without a flu vaccine in the 2023-2024 season, compared to less than half of White adults (51%).
• AIAN and Black people have a shorter life expectancy (70.1 and 74.0 years, respectively) compared to White people (78.4 years) as of 2023.
• Black (10.9 per 1,000) and AIAN (9.2 per 1,000) infants were at least two times as likely to die as White infants (4.5 per 1,000) as of 2023. Pregnancy-related mortality rates are also more than three times higher among Black women compared to White women.
• Hispanic (24%), AIAN (23%), and Black (22%) households were roughly twice as likely to experience food insecurity as White households (12%).

Asian people in the aggregate fare the same or better compared to White people for most examined measures. However, they fare worse for some measures, including receipt of some routine care and screening services, and some social and economic measures, including home ownership, crowded housing, and experiences with racism and discrimination. They also have higher shares of people who are noncitizens or who have limited English proficiency (LEP), which could contribute to barriers to accessing health coverage and care. Moreover, the aggregate data may mask underlying disparities among subgroups of the Asian population.

Data gaps largely prevent the ability to identify and understand health disparities for NHPI people. Data are insufficient or not disaggregated for NHPI people for a number of the examined measures. Among available data, NHPI people fare worse than White people for the majority of measures. There are no significant differences for some measures, but this largely reflects the smaller sample size for NHPI people in many datasets, which limits the power to detect statistically significant differences.

These data highlight the persistence of disparities in health and health care. While these data provide insight into the status of disparities, ongoing data gaps and limitations hamper the ability to get a complete picture, particularly for smaller population groups and among subgroups of the broader racial and ethnic categories. Going forward, new policies may widen racial and ethnic disparities, while at the same time data to identify and measure them may become more limited. Addressing disparities is important not only for the groups impacted by them but for the nation’s overall health and productivity.

About four in ten people (43%) in the United States identify as people of color (Figure 2). This group includes 20% who are Hispanic, 12% who are Black, 6% who are Asian, 1% who are AIAN, less than 1% who are NHPI, and 5% who identify as another racial category, including individuals who identify as more than one race. The remaining 57% of the population are White. The share of the population who identify as people of color has grown over time, with the largest growth occurring among those who identify as Hispanic or Asian. The racial diversity of the population is expected to continue to increase, with people of color projected to account for over half of the population by 2050. Changes to how data on race and ethnicity are collected and reported may also influence measures of the diversity of the population.

Certain areas of the country—particularly in the South, Southwest, and parts of the West are more racially diverse than others (Figure 3). Overall, the share of the population who are people of color ranges from 10% or fewer in Maine and West Virginia to 50% or more of the population in California, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas. Most people of color live in the South and West. More than half (59%) of the Black population resides in the South, and nearly eight in ten Hispanic people live in the West (37%) or South (39%). About three quarters (73%) of the NHPI population, almost half (49%) of the AIAN population, and 43% of the Asian population live in the Western region of the country.

People of color are younger compared to White people. Hispanic people are the youngest racial and ethnic group, with 31% ages 18 or younger and 55% below age 35 (Figure 4). Roughly half of Black (48%), AIAN (48%), and NHPI (51%) people are below age 35, compared to 42% of Asian people and 38% of White people.

Overall, Hispanic, Black, and AIAN people fare worse compared to White people across most examined measures of health coverage, access to, and use of care (Figure 5). Experiences for Asian people are mostly similar to or better than White people across these examined measures. NHPI people fare worse than White people across some measures, but several measures lacked sufficient data for a reliable estimate for NHPI people.

Despite gains in health coverage across racial and ethnic groups over time, Hispanic, Black, AIAN, and NHPI people under age 65 remain more likely to be uninsured compared to their White counterparts. After the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Medicaid and Marketplace coverage expansions took effect in 2014, all racial and ethnic groups experienced large increases in coverage. Beginning in 2017, coverage gains began reversing, and the number of uninsured people increased for three consecutive years. However, between 2019 and 2023, there were small gains in coverage across most racial and ethnic groups, with pandemic enrollment protections in Medicaid and enhanced ACA premium subsidies. Despite these gains over time, disparities in health coverage persist as of 2023. AIAN and Hispanic people under age 65 have the highest uninsured rates at 19% and 18%, respectively (Figure 6). Uninsured rates for NHPI (13%) and Black (10%) people are also higher than the rate for their White counterparts (7%). White and Asian people have the lowest uninsured rates at 7% and 6%, respectively.

Among those under age 65, most adults of color are more likely than White adults to report not having a usual doctor or provider and going without care. Roughly one third (36%) of Hispanic adults, one quarter (25%) of AIAN adults, and one in five of NHPI (22%) and Asian (19%) adults report not having a personal health care provider compared to 16% of White adults (Figure 7). The shares of Black adults (15%) who report not having a personal health care provider are similar to the share of their White counterparts (16%). In addition, Hispanic (23%), NHPI (19%), AIAN (18%), and Black (16%) adults are more likely than White adults (12%) to report not seeing a doctor in the past 12 months because of cost, while Asian adults (8%) are less likely than White adults to say they went without a doctor visit due to cost. Hispanic adults (30%) are more likely than White adults (26%) to say they went without a routine checkup in the past year, while Black (19%) adults are less likely to report going without a checkup. Hispanic (45%), AIAN (41%), and Black (36%) adults are more likely than White adults (32%) to report going without a visit to a dentist or dental clinic in the past year.

Children of color are more likely than White children to go without a preventive dental visit, lack a usual source of care, or have no personal doctor. About one third of Hispanic (34%), Black (34%), and Asian (34%) children lack a usual source of care when sick compared to 15% of White children (Figure 8). Hispanic (39%), AIAN (39%), Black (33%), and Asian (28%) children are more likely to not have a personal doctor or nurse than White children (21%). Similarly, higher shares of Black (25%), Asian (23%), and Hispanic (22%) children went without a preventive dental visit in the past year compared to White children (18%). Data for NHPI children should be interpreted with caution due to large confidence intervals.    

Among adults with any mental illness, Hispanic, Black, and Asian adults are less likely than White adults to report receiving mental health services. Nearly six in ten (58%) of White adults with any mental illness report receiving mental health services in the past year (Figure 9). In contrast, about four in ten Hispanic (44%) and Black (39%) adults, and a third (33%) of Asian adults with any mental illness report receiving mental health care in the past year. Data are not available for AIAN and NHPI adults.

Experiences across racial and ethnic groups are mixed regarding receipt of recommended cancer screenings (Figure 10). Black people (22%) are less likely than White people (27%) to go without a recent mammogram among women ages 40 and older. In contrast, AIAN (37%) and Hispanic (30%) people are more likely than White people (27%) to go without a mammogram. Among those recommended for colorectal cancer screening, Hispanic, Asian, AIAN, and NHPI people are more likely than White people to not be up to date on their screening. AIAN (47%), Asian (46%), Hispanic (40%), and Black (34%) people are more likely than their White counterparts (31%) to report not having a pap smear in the past three years. Increases in cancer screenings, particularly for breast, colorectal, and prostate cancers, have been identified as one of the drivers of the decline in cancer mortality over the past few decades.

Racial and ethnic differences persist in flu and childhood vaccinations (Figure 11). About two in three Hispanic (65%) and AIAN (65%) adults, and roughly six in ten (58%) Black adults did not receive a flu vaccine in the 2023-2024 season compared to about half (51%) of White adults. However, among children, White children (48%) are more likely than Hispanic (39%) and Asian (31%) children to go without the flu vaccine. Black (48%) and AIAN (46%) children have similar rates of flu vaccination to White children. In 2021-2023, AIAN (41%), Black (36%), and Hispanic (35%) children were more likely than White children (31%) to have not received all recommended childhood immunizations. The rate for Asian children (30%) was similar to the rate for White children (31%). Data are not available to assess flu and childhood vaccinations among NHPI adults and children.

Black and AIAN people fare worse than White people across most examined measures of health status and outcomes (Figure 12). In contrast, Asian and Hispanic people fare better than White people for a majority of examined health measures. NHPI people fare worse than White people across some measures, but several measures lacked sufficient data for a reliable estimate for NHPI people.

Black and AIAN people have a shorter life expectancy at birth compared to White people.  Hispanic, Black, and AIAN people experienced larger declines in life expectancy than White people between 2019 and 2021, followed by increases in 2022 and 2023 that brought them closer to pre-pandemic levels. Life expectancy at birth represents the average number of years a group of infants would live if they were to experience the age-specific death rates prevailing during a specified period. Life expectancy declined by 2.7 years between 2019 and 2021, largely reflecting an increase in excess deaths due to COVID-19, which disproportionately impacted Black, Hispanic, and AIAN people. AIAN people experienced the largest life expectancy decline of 6.6 years, followed by Hispanic and Black people (4.2 and 4.0 years, respectively), and a smaller decline of 2.4 years for White people. Asian people had the smallest decline in life expectancy of 2.1 years between 2019 and 2021. Recent data show that overall life expectancy increased across all racial and ethnic groups between 2021 and 2023, but racial disparities persist (Figure 13). Life expectancy is lowest for AIAN people at 70.1 years, followed by Black people at 74.0 years. White and Hispanic people have higher life expectancies at 78.4 and 81.3 years, respectively, while Asian people have the highest life expectancy at 85.2 years. Life expectancies are even lower for AIAN and Black males, at 66.7 and 70.3 years, respectively. Data are not available for NHPI people.

Hispanic, Black, and AIAN adults are more likely to report fair or poor health status than their White counterparts, while Asian adults are less likely to indicate fair or poor health. Nearly three in ten (28%) AIAN adults, about a quarter of Hispanic (26%) and NHPI (25%) adults, and about one in five (22%) Black adults report fair or poor health status, compared to 17% of White adults (Figure 14). About one in ten (12%) Asian adults report fair or poor health status.

As of 2023, Black people are more than three times as likely as White people to experience a pregnancy-related death (deaths within one year of pregnancy) (49.4 vs. 14.9 per 100,000 live births) (Figure 15). Rates were lower for Hispanic (12.3 per 100,000) and Asian (10.7 per 100,000) women. Data from 2023 were insufficient to identify mortality among AIAN and NHPI women. However, earlier data from 2021 show that AIAN and NHPI people (118.7 and 111.7 per 100,000, respectively) had the highest rates of pregnancy-related mortality across racial and ethnic groups. The Dobbs decision, eliminating the constitutional right to abortion could widen the already large disparities in maternal health as people of color may face disproportionate challenges accessing abortions due to state restrictions.

Black, AIAN, and NHPI women have higher shares of preterm births, low birthweight births, or births for which they received late or no prenatal care compared to White women (Figure 16). Additionally, Hispanic women (10%) are more likely to have births for which they received late or no prenatal care compared to White women (5%). Asian women (9%) are more likely to have low birthweight births, defined as babies born weighing less than 5 pounds 8 ounces or 2,500 grams, than White women (7%). Notably, NHPI women (22%) are more than four times as likely as White women (5%) to begin receiving prenatal care in the third trimester or to receive no prenatal care at all.

Teen birth rates have declined over time, but the birth rates among Hispanic, Black, AIAN, and NHPI teens are over two times higher than the rate among White teens (Figure 17). In contrast, the birth rate for Asian teens is more than four times lower than the rate for White teens.

Infants born to women of color are at higher risk for mortality compared to those born to White women. As of 2023, Black (10.9 per 1,000) and AIAN (9.2 per 1,000) infants are at least two times as likely to die as White infants (4.5 per 1,000) (Figure 18). NHPI (8.2 per 1,000) and Hispanic (5.0 per 1,000) infants also have higher death rates compared to White infants. Asian infants have the lowest mortality rate at 3.4 per 1,000 live births.

Black, Hispanic, AIAN, and NHPI people are more likely than White people to be diagnosed with HIV or AIDS, the most advanced stage of HIV infection. In 2023, the HIV diagnosis rate for Black people (41.9 per 100,000) is roughly eight times higher than the rate for White people (5.2 per 100,000), and the rate for Hispanic people (25.2 per 100,000) is about five times higher than the rate for White people (Figure 19). AIAN and NHPI people (9.8 and 10.1 per 100,000, respectively) also have higher HIV diagnosis rates compared to White people. Among those diagnosed in 2023, similar patterns are present among those classified as having AIDS at the time of diagnosis, the most advanced stage of HIV, reflecting barriers to treatment. Black people (20 per 100,000) have a roughly nine times higher rate of AIDS diagnosis compared to White people (2.3 per 100,000). Hispanic (10.1 per 100,000), AIAN (3.7 per 100,000), and NHPI people (4.7 per 100,000) also have higher rates of AIDS diagnoses than White people.

Among people ages 13 and older living with an HIV diagnosis, viral suppression rates are lower among AIAN (65%), Hispanic (66%), NHPI (62%), and Black (64%) people compared to White (72%) and Asian (70%) people (Figure 20). Viral suppression refers to having less than 200 copies of HIV per milliliter of blood. Increasing the share of people with HIV who are virally suppressed is one of four key strategies or “pillars” of the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. initiative. Viral suppression promotes optimal health outcomes for people with HIV and also offers a preventive benefit when someone is virally suppressed, as they cannot sexually transmit HIV.

The prevalence of chronic disease varies across racial and ethnic groups and by type of disease. Diabetes rates for Black (17%), AIAN (16%), and Hispanic (13%) adults are all higher than the rate for White adults (12%). Black (6%), NHPI (5%), Hispanic (4%), and Asian (2%) people are less likely than White people (8%) to have had a heart attack or heart disease. AIAN (23%) and Black (18%) adults have higher rates of asthma compared to their White counterparts (16%), while rates for Hispanic (13%) and Asian (10%) adults are lower. Among children, Black (15%) and Hispanic (11%) children are more likely to have ever had asthma compared to White children (9%), while Asian children (7%) have a lower asthma rate (Figure 21). Data are not available for NHPI children.

Black, AIAN, and NHPI people are roughly twice as likely as White people to die from diabetes, and Black people are more likely than White people to die from heart disease (Figure 22). Hispanic people (26.2 per 100.000) also have a higher diabetes death rate compared to White people (19.8 per 100,000). In contrast, Asian people (16.6 per 100,000) are less likely than White people to die from diabetes. Asian (78.5 per 100,000), Hispanic (108.7 per 100,000), AIAN (138.3 per 100,000), and NHPI (157.8 per 100,000) people have lower heart disease death rates than their White counterparts (169.1 per 100,000).

People of color generally have lower rates of new cancer cases compared to White people, but Black people have higher incidence rates for some cancer types (Figure 23). Black people (445.4 per 100,000) have lower rates of cancer incidence compared to White people (458.6 per 100,000) for cancer overall, and most of the leading types of cancer examined. However, they have higher rates of new colon and rectum (39.8 and 37.0 per 100,000, respectively) and prostate (188.2 and 112.9 per 100,000, respectively) cancer. AIAN people (42.2 per 100,000) have a higher rate of colon and rectum cancer than White people (37.0 per 100,000). Other groups have lower cancer incidence rates than White people across all examined cancer types.

Although Black people do not have higher cancer incidence rates than White people overall and across most types of cancer, they are more likely to die from cancer. Black people (161.8 per 100,000) have a higher cancer death rate than White people (148.6 per 100,000) for cancer overall and for most of the leading cancer types (Figure 24). In contrast, Hispanic, Asian, NHPI, and AIAN people have lower cancer mortality rates across most cancer types compared to White people. The higher mortality rate among Black people despite similar or lower rates of incidence compared to White people could reflect a combination of factors, including more limited access to care, later stage of diagnosis, more comorbidities, and lower receipt of guideline-concordant care, which are driven by broader social and economic inequities.

Obesity rates vary across race and ethnicity groups. As of 2024, Black (42%), AIAN (41%), and Hispanic (36%) adults all have higher obesity rates than White adults (32%), while Asian adults (13%) have a lower obesity rate. (Figure 25).

Overall rates of mental illness are lower for people of color compared to White people but could be underdiagnosed among people of color. About one in five Hispanic (21%) and Black (21%) adults, and 17% of Asian adults report having any mental illness compared to 25% of White adults (Figure 26). Among adolescents, Black (14%), Asian (14%), and NHPI (8%) adolescents were less likely to report having a major depressive episode in the past year compared to White adolescents (19%). Research suggests that a lack of culturally sensitive screening tools that detect mental illness, coupled with structural barriers, could contribute to underdiagnosis of mental illness among people of color.

AIAN and White people have the highest rates of deaths by suicide as of 2023. People of color have been disproportionately affected by recent increases in deaths by suicide compared with their White counterparts. As of 2023, AIAN (23.8 per 100,000) and White (17.6 per 100,000) people have the highest rates of deaths by suicide compared to other racial and ethnic groups (Figure 27). Rates of deaths by suicide are about two times higher among AIAN adolescents (14.1 per 100,000) than White adolescents (7.1 per 100,000). In contrast, Black (9.1 per 100,000), Hispanic (8.2 per 100,000), and Asian (6.5 per 100,000) adolescents have lower rates of suicide deaths compared to their White peers.

Drug overdose death rates are highest among AIAN and Black people. As of 2023, AIAN people continue to have the highest rates of drug overdose deaths (65 per 100,000) compared with other racial and ethnic groups. Drug overdose death rates among Black people (48.9 per 100,000) exceed rates for White people (33.1 per 100,000), reflecting larger increases among Black people in recent years (Figure 28). Hispanic (22.8 per 100,000), NHPI (26.2 per 100,000), and Asian (5.1 per 100,000) people have lower rates of drug overdose deaths than White people (33.1 per 100,000). Data on drug overdose deaths among adolescents show that while White adolescents account for the largest share of drug overdose deaths, Black and Hispanic adolescents have experienced the fastest increase in these deaths in recent years.

Social and economic factors like socioeconomic status, education, immigration status, language, neighborhood and physical environment, employment, and social support networks, as well as access to health care have an important influence on health. There has been extensive research and recognition that addressing social, economic, and environmental factors is important for addressing health disparities. Research also shows how racism and discrimination drive inequities across these factors and impact health and well-being. 

Black, Hispanic, and AIAN people fare worse compared to White people across most examined social and economic measures (Figure 29). Experiences for Asian people are more mixed relative to White people across these examined measures. NHPI people fare worse than White people for half of the measures, however, reliable or disaggregated data are missing for a number of measures.

While most people across racial and ethnic groups live in a family with a full-time worker, disparities persist (Figure 30). AIAN (68%), Black (74%), NHPI (79%), and Hispanic (81%) people are less likely than White people (83%) to have a full-time worker in the family. In contrast, Asian people (86%) are more likely than their White counterparts (86%) to have a full-time worker in the family.

Despite the majority of people living in a family with a full-time worker, over one in five AIAN (25%) and Black (21%) people have family incomes below the federal poverty level, over twice the share as White people (10%). Rates of poverty were also higher among Hispanic (16%) and NHPI (15%) people (Figure 31).

Black, Hispanic, AIAN, and NHPI people have lower levels of educational attainment compared to their White counterparts. Among people ages 25 and older, over two thirds (69%) of White people have completed some post-secondary education, compared to less than half (45%) of Hispanic people, just over half of AIAN (52%) and NHPI (54%) people, and about six in ten (58%) Black people (Figure 33). Asian people (75%) are more likely than White people (69%) to have completed at least some post-secondary education.

Black and Hispanic families have less wealth than White families. Wealth can be defined using net worth, a measure of the difference between a family’s assets and liabilities. The median net worth for White households is $285,000 compared to $44,900 for Black households and $61,600 for Hispanic households (Figure 33). Asian households have the highest median net worth of $536,000. Data are not available for AIAN and NHPI people.

People of color are less likely to own a home than White people (Figure 34). Nearly eight in ten (78%) White people own a home compared to 70% of Asian people, 61% of AIAN people, 56% of Hispanic people, about half of Black people (50%), and 43% of NHPI people.

Hispanic, AIAN, and Black people are roughly twice as likely to experience food insecurity compared to their White counterparts (Figure 35). Asian and White people have similar rates of food insecurity (11% vs 12%, respectively).

People of color are more likely to live in crowded housing than their White counterparts (Figure 36). Among White people, 3% report living in a crowded housing arrangement, defined by the American Community Survey as having more than one person per room. In contrast, almost three in ten (28%) NHPI people, roughly one in five Hispanic (18%) and AIAN (16%) people, and about one in ten Asian (12%) and Black (8%) people report living in crowded housing. However, these differences may reflect cultural preferences for multigenerational living rather than a housing challenge.

AIAN, Black, and NHPI people are less likely to have internet access than White people (Figure 37). Higher shares of AIAN (10%) and Black (5%) people say they have no internet access compared to their White counterparts (4%). In contrast, Asian (2%) and Hispanic (3%) people are less likely to report no internet access than White people (4%).

Black, Asian, AIAN, and Hispanic people are more likely to live in a household without access to a vehicle than White people (Figure 38). About one in eight (13%) Black people and about one in ten Asian (9%) and AIAN (9%) people live in a household without a vehicle available, followed by 7% of Hispanic people. The shares of NHPI (5%) and White (4%) people who report not having access to a vehicle in the household are similar.

Asian, Hispanic, NHPI, and Black people include higher shares of noncitizen immigrants compared to White people. Asian and Hispanic people have the highest shares of noncitizen immigrants at 24% and 20%, respectively (Figure 39). Asian people are projected to become the largest immigrant group in the United States by 2055. Noncitizen immigrants are more likely to be uninsured than citizens and face increased barriers to accessing health care.

Asian and Hispanic people are more likely to have LEP compared to White people. Almost one in three Asian (31%) and Hispanic (28%) people report speaking English less than very well compared to 1% of White people (1%) (Figure 40). Adults with LEP are more likely to report worse health status and increased barriers in accessing health care compared to English proficient adults.

Racism is an underlying driver of health disparities, and repeated and ongoing exposure to perceived experiences of racism and discrimination can increase risks for poor health outcomes. Research has shown that exposure to racism and discrimination can lead to negative mental health outcomes and certain negative impacts on physical health, including depression, anxiety, and hypertension.

AIAN, Black, Hispanic, and Asian adults are more likely to report certain experiences with discrimination in daily life compared with their White counterparts, with the greatest frequency reported among Black and AIAN adults. A 2023 KFF survey shows that at least half of AIAN (58%), Black (54%), and Hispanic (50%) adults, and about four in ten (42%) Asian adults say they experienced at least one type of discrimination in daily life in the past year (Figure 41). These experiences include receiving poorer service than others at restaurants or stores; people acting as if they are afraid of them or as if they aren’t smart; being threatened or harassed; or being criticized for speaking a language other than English. Data are not available for NHPI adults.

About one in five (18%) Black adults and roughly one in eight (12%) AIAN adults, followed by roughly one in ten Hispanic (11%), and Asian (10%) adults who received health care in the past three years report being treated unfairly or with disrespect by a health care provider because of their racial or ethnic background. These shares are higher than the 3% of White adults who report this (Figure 42). Overall, roughly three in ten (29%) AIAN adults and one in four (24%) Black adults say they were treated unfairly or with disrespect by a health care provider in the past three years for any reason compared with 14% of White adults.

This chart pack is based on the KFF Survey on Racism, Discrimination, and Health and KFF analysis of a wide range of health datasets, including the 2023 American Community Survey, the 2024 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, the 2022-2024 National Health Interview Survey, the 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, and the 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances as well as from several online reports and databases including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) on vaccination coverage, the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) National Vital Statistics Reports, the CDC Influenza Vaccination Dashboard Flu Vaccination Coverage Webpage Report, the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP) Atlas, the United States Cancer Statistics Incidence and Mortality Web-based Report, the 2023 CDC Natality Public Use File, CDC Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) database, and the CDC WONDER online database.

Unless otherwise noted, race/ethnicity was categorized by non-Hispanic White (White), non-Hispanic Black (Black), Hispanic, non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native (AIAN), non-Hispanic Asian (Asian), and non-Hispanic Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander (NHPI). Some datasets combine Asian and NHPI race categories limiting the ability to disaggregate data for these groups. Non-Hispanic White people were the reference group for all significance testing. All noted differences were statistically significant differences at the p<0.05. We include data for smaller population groups wherever available. Instances in which an estimate has a 95% confidence interval width greater than 20 percentage points or 1.2 times the estimate may not be reliable and are noted in the figures.