According to a study by Sentier Research, a private firm specializing in income statistics, non-Hispanic whites reaped 76% of the nation's total wages and other income, even though they were just 64% of the population in 2010

The income share is down slightly from the 78% made by whites in mid-decade, reflecting the diminishing percentage of the country that is white and not Hispanic. Asians are the only other group earning a higher share of total income than they represent in the population, about 5%. Hispanics, who are the largest minority group at 16%, earn 9% of all income, up from about 8% in the middle of the decade and blacks earn 8%, only a little higher over the decade, though they make up 13% of the nation. Whites are a smaller proportion of the country with every passing year, while the Hispanic and Asian populations grew by double digits over the past decade. The Pew Research Center found a widening gap between the wealth accumulated by white households and the assets owned by blacks and Hispanics, who took the biggest hit from the housing bubble bursting and the recession's job losses. For the time being, the country is broadly divided between the relative prosperity enjoyed by many whites and Asians, and the economic difficulties experienced by many blacks and Hispanics. Whites and Asians have higher education levels and are more likely to be part of households in which two adults hold well-paying jobs. A sizable number hold advanced degrees in science and technical fields that pay high salaries, while blacks and Hispanics tend to get degrees in the social sciences and humanities. More than half of white and Asian households consist of married couples; in contrast, one in five black households are headed by single parents, and just 28$ consist of married couples. With a median age of 42, whites are more likely to be in their peak earning years than Hispanics, whose median age is 27, or blacks, at 31. Hispanics are more apt to be recent immigrants, many of whom work at low-paying jobs. The recession underscored the significance of education. College graduates had significantly lower unemployment rates than people with no more than a high school degree.