Credit access can be a lever of economic opportunity, allowing people to start businesses, purchase homes, and invest in education while also serving as a financial cushion against economic shocks. Credit access information, which is impacted by credit scores, also provides insights into individuals’ economic well-being. But average credit scores and credit access vary based on neighborhood characteristics, with credit access being lower for residents who live on blocks with public housing. What factors lead to this disparity? And how is the racial composition of the neighborhoods visited by people who live in neighborhoods with public housing related to their financial health?

On Tuesday, September 24, 2024 the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's Economic Mobility Project hosted Financial Health and the Economic Well-Being of Public Housing Residents. Beginning with remarks from Karen Dynan, professor of economics at Harvard University, it next featured a research presentation by Daniel Hartley, senior economist with the Chicago Fed. Hartley shared his research on the financial health of people who live in neighborhoods with public housing and how their economic well-being correlates to the neighborhoods they visit and their access to credit. After that, a panel of experts discussed the impact of credit access for people who live in neighborhoods with public housing and what can be done to increase their economic mobility. The panel’s moderator was Kristin Myers, senior vice president of content and editor-in-chief at etf.com.