In January 2020, the CDC confirmed the first COVID-19 case in the U.S. and within the year they reported over 25 million confirmed cases. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the lives of all Americans, but data collected by the CDC found that Black and Hispanic Americans (minorities) were three times as likely as White Americans to be hospitalized and twice as likely to die of COVID-19. My research investigates how social determinants of health (SDOH) such as physical environment/housing conditions, employment inequalities, and access to health care provide an explanation for this disparity. To investigate this connection, I examined peer-reviewed articles such as “COVID-19 And Racial/Ethnic Disparities In Health Risk, Employment, and Household Composition”, and statistical data compiled by agencies such as the CDC, the U.S. Census Bureau, and Pew Research Center from the first two years of the pandemic. These resources revealed higher rates of COVID-19 infection and death in areas of the U.S. with a high concentration of minorities living in overcrowded, substandard housing. In addition, these minorities represented a higher percentage of essential workers, which increased their exposure risk to COVID-19. They also had the highest uninsured healthcare rates, which caused delays in seeking medical attention and lowered their health outcomes. My research demonstrates that improving SDOH is critical to reducing the disproportionate spread of COVID-19 among minorities. Highlighting these differences in SDOH within the broader context of inequality shows the necessity for a comprehensive, multi-strategic approach is needed to eliminate these disparities.