Race, Class, and Segregation Patterns in U.S. Immigrant Gateway Cities

Abstract

Previous studies have shown some tendency toward increased residential racial and ethnic integration, especially in large West Coast metropolitan areas. They have also shown in limited studies that integration, or at least declines in separation, occur with increases in socioeconomic status. The results of this study, using recently released 2000 census data for metropolitan areas with large numbers of foreign born, show that indeed separation does decline with increases in socio-economic status though it also varies by geography, education, and income and is significantly variable across different ethnic groups in the large immigrant cities. The research in this study also documents the continuing hierarchy of greater integration of Whites with Asians and Whites with Hispanics than with African Americans. It is clear that the changing patterns of separation have moved beyond Black-White contexts. Still, class clearly matters, as integration is greater at higher education levels, and suburban areas in general are more integrated than urban cores.