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Income Loss and Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States—Investigating the Moderating Role of Race and Metro-Level Co-ethnic Density

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Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted individuals’ financial well-being and mental health. This study investigates the relationship between income loss and mental health outcomes during the pandemic, as well as the heterogeneity in this relationship by race/ethnicity and co-ethnic density in the metropolitan area. Using nationally representative Household Pulse Survey data, this study finds that income loss is associated with a heightened risk of depression and anxiety, even after controlling for individual and metropolitan-level characteristics. Co-ethnic density in metropolitan areas worsens the effects of income loss on depression and anxiety for Hispanics and non-Hispanic Blacks while residing in a metropolitan area with more Whites cushions the impact of income loss on depression and anxiety for non-Hispanic Whites. Overall, the study underscores the importance of considering the intersection of race/ethnicity and metropolitan-level co-ethnic density in exploring the influence of economic stressors on mental health.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by a grant from Internal Research Awards Program from the University of Texas at San Antonio. The author thanks Corey Sparks for his assistance with the data extraction, Jianfeng He for his excellent research assistance, and several annonymous reviewers for helpful comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology and Demography, University of Texas at San Antonio, 1 UTSA Circle, San Antonio, TX, 78249, USA

    Ying Huang

  2. Institute for Health Disparities Research, University of Texas, San Antonio, TX, 78249, USA

    Ying Huang

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Huang, Y. Income Loss and Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States—Investigating the Moderating Role of Race and Metro-Level Co-ethnic Density. J Urban Health 101, 205–217 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-024-00826-2

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