Indicators 2024: Determining where social inequities exist and for whom

WILKES-BARRE — The information presented in The Institute’s annual Indicators Report is organized into more than a dozen categories. It is analyzed through a social equity lens as well.

The Institute’s chief operating officer, Jill Avery-Stoss, said these statistics are used to determine where social inequities exist and for whom.

Avery-Stoss said the data is divided into dimensions such as race and ethnicity, age, gender, income,and disability status.

For instance, data analyzed in this year’s report found several areas of disparity across racial lines. Individuals who are Black or Hispanic are likelier than others to have income below the poverty line and regional workers from those backgrounds are less likely to earn at least $15 per hour — 51% compared to 77% for workers who are White.

“The gap widens further when gender is considered,” Avery-Stoss said. “Just 42% of regional workers who are women and Hispanic or Latino earn at least $15 per hour.”

When measuring income equality on a scale ranging from 0 (total equality) to 1 (total inequality), Luzerne County scores 0.4512; Lackawanna County’s score is 0.4559; and Wayne County’s score is 0.4512.

Levels of education and housing status are considered as well. Overall, men are now less likely than women to earn bachelor’s degrees or graduate or professional degrees. People who are White are more likely than people of other racial backgrounds to receive bachelor’s degrees or graduate or professional degrees.

“Non-White households have higher rates of cost burden than White households, but there has been improvement in this area,” added Avery-Stoss. “Home-ownership rates are far lower among Black and Hispanic households compared to White households, though this metric has been improving as well.”

Gaps in health and well-being persist across population groups

Disparities are not limited to economic and financial well-being. They also pertain to physical and mental health. Men are likelier than women to be considered overweight or obese, for instance.

Similarly, people aged 45 to 64 are likelier than individuals in other age groups to be considered overweight or obese. The same is true for people with lower levels of education and lower incomes.

“Tobacco use varies quite a bit across population groups,” stated Avery-Stoss. “People over age 65, with college degrees and incomes over $75,000 per year are least likely to us tobacco products, however.”

Regionally, men aged 18 to 29 experience the highest rates of binge drinking. Within this group of men aged 18 to 29, individuals with at least some college education and with incomes over $50,000 per year are likeliest to binge drink.

Across Lackawanna, Luzerne, and Wayne Counties, there are generally higher shares of males than females without health insurance.

“Safety indicators reveal equity issues too,” Avery-Stoss added. “People who are female are more likely than others to suffer from adverse childhood experiences and intimate partner violence, and between 2019 and 2023 almost half of the hate crimes committed in Lackawanna, Luzerne, and Wayne Counties were motivated by racial or ethnic bias. More than one in five hate crimes were motivated by religious bias.”