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Neighborhood segregation persists for Black, Latino or Hispanic, and Asian Americans
Brookings Institutionhe systemic racism spotlighted over the past year in the wake of the death of George Floyd has long pervaded much of American society. One enduring dimension is the neighborhood residential segregation of people of color from white residents due to a well-known history of discriminatory practices imposed by government and private sector forces.
As I note in my book, Diversity Explosion, Black-white neighborhood segregation has decreased (albeit modestly) since its peak in the 1960s. Still, more than 50 years after the passage of the 1968 Fair Housing Act, substantial levels of neighborhood segregation persist for Black residents and—to a sizable, though lesser extent—for Latino or Hispanic and Asian Americans. This high level of racial segregation is part and parcel of continued housing discrimination based on race and ethnicity, and has prompted the Biden administration to propose new efforts to reduce both formal and informal forces that allow it to endure.
The analysis presented here draws from the most recently available Census Bureau American Community Survey data to examine neighborhood residential segregation over the 2015-2019 period. It shows that despite the fact that people of color account for the vast majority of recent U.S. population growth, white residents almost everywhere— including those in the nation’s most diverse metropolitan areas—continue to reside in mostly white neighborhoods. At the same time, Black and Latino or Hispanic Americans in most metropolitan areas reside in neighborhoods that are disproportionately comprised of members of those same groups. The analysis also maps geographic variations in these segregation patterns.
America’s increased diversity over this century is reflected in the rapid population growth of Latino or Hispanic Americans (the nation’s largest minority), Asian Americans, and persons identifying as two or more races, along with smaller gains in Black and Native American populations. All together, these groups increased by 53% between 2000 and 2019, compared with less than a 1% increase in the white population.
As I note in my book, Diversity Explosion, Black-white neighborhood segregation has decreased (albeit modestly) since its peak in the 1960s. Still, more than 50 years after the passage of the 1968 Fair Housing Act, substantial levels of neighborhood segregation persist for Black residents and—to a sizable, though lesser extent—for Latino or Hispanic and Asian Americans. This high level of racial segregation is part and parcel of continued housing discrimination based on race and ethnicity, and has prompted the Biden administration to propose new efforts to reduce both formal and informal forces that allow it to endure.
The analysis presented here draws from the most recently available Census Bureau American Community Survey data to examine neighborhood residential segregation over the 2015-2019 period. It shows that despite the fact that people of color account for the vast majority of recent U.S. population growth, white residents almost everywhere— including those in the nation’s most diverse metropolitan areas—continue to reside in mostly white neighborhoods. At the same time, Black and Latino or Hispanic Americans in most metropolitan areas reside in neighborhoods that are disproportionately comprised of members of those same groups. The analysis also maps geographic variations in these segregation patterns.
America’s increased diversity over this century is reflected in the rapid population growth of Latino or Hispanic Americans (the nation’s largest minority), Asian Americans, and persons identifying as two or more races, along with smaller gains in Black and Native American populations. All together, these groups increased by 53% between 2000 and 2019, compared with less than a 1% increase in the white population.
