All indicators of SES are strongly patterned by race, with SES being a key determinant of racial disparities in health. We review recent national data on the relationship between race and SES, as well as, the ways in which race and SES combine to affect health status. We show that indicators of individual-level SES are not equivalent across race. We also show that because residential segregation by race has led racial groups in the U.S. to live in distinct neighborhood environments, social conditions at the neighborhood and community level make an important contribution to racial differences in health. We need a better understanding of the ways in which pathogenic factors linked to place and other aspects of racism can adversely affect health. Fully understanding the determinants of racial differences in health requires research that explores, across the life course, all aspects of the social context that can have health consequences.
