Where Black Workers Have the Strongest and Weakest Modeled Behind-the-Camera Opportunity

This table compares the 10 highest- and lowest-ranked metros on the Black Opportunity Index. The index combines Black representation implied by each metro’s occupation mix, a pay-adjusted local wage benchmark, and population-adjusted job access. A higher score indicates stronger relative performance under the model.

The Black Opportunity Index combines a 35% modeled-share score, a 35% pay-adjusted wage score, and a 30% job-access score. Index results are points, not percentages; a score of 95.5 does not mean that 95.5% of opportunities are equitable.
Black workers’ share implied by job mix estimates representation by applying national Black occupation shares to each metro’s local mix of selected film-production-related jobs. It is not the observed percentage of local workers who are Black.
The pay-adjusted local wage benchmark reflects the metro’s RPP-adjusted all-worker wage environment after applying the national Black-to-White pay factor of 80.1%. It is not Black workers’ actual wage in the metro.
Black job-access estimates are calculated from modeled Black employment per one million residents. They are index inputs, not BLS-published counts of Black workers in each metro.
 See more in methodology.