Racial and ethnic residential segregation and household structure: A research note

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Abstract

This study examines how patterns of racial and ethnic segregation in U.S. metropolitan areas vary by household structure. Specifically, using tract-level summary files from the 2000 decennial census, we estimated levels of metropolitan segregation for different racial and ethnic groups by household composition and poverty status. We find that when using the dissimilarity index, white households with children, and especially poor ones, are more segregated from black, Hispanic, and Asian households than are white households as a whole. Results from the interaction index provide complimentary information. In large part because nonpoor white married-couple households are more numerous than other groups in most metropolitan areas, such households tend to have relatively less interaction with other racial and ethnic groups, and black and Hispanic households in particular. In contrast, minority group members often live in neighborhoods with a high proportion of non-Hispanic white households. Among all three minority group families with children, nonpoor married householders had the highest levels of interaction with whites. These results show that household structure shapes racial and ethnic residential patterns in U.S. metropolitan areas.

Introduction

Black–white residential segregation in U.S. metropolitan areas, while still high in absolute terms, has declined substantially over the past few decades. This suggests at least some easing of the stark racial divide between blacks and whites in American life. However, this decline may be less dramatic for some groups within these populations. For example, some research has indicated that black and white children in schools and neighborhoods are more segregated than blacks and whites overall (Logan et al., 2001, Logan, 2004). In addition, research on neighborhood change suggests that white households with children are amongst the least likely to live in integrated neighborhoods (Ellen, 2007).

Researchers have long noted that life course considerations play an important role in household residential decisions, as residential mobility is often a response to housing needs that accompany changes in household composition (Rossi, 1955, Speare et al., 1975). For example, married couples may desire more space than single individuals. In addition to space, families with children are also likely concerned about particular kinds of neighborhood amenities, such as good schools, parks, and safe spaces (Rosenbaum and Friedman, 2001). The implication is that white households with children may be especially averse to minority neighborhoods because of the perception (whether unfounded or not) that such neighborhoods have fewer amenities, higher crime, or inferior public schools (Harris, 1997, Ellen, 2007).

Despite these suggestive findings that household structure influences patterns of racial and ethnic residential segregation, there are relatively few studies to date that directly focus on this issue. The goal of our study is to therefore provide a detailed, mainly descriptive, analysis of how racial and ethnic residential segregation varies by household structure in U.S. metropolitan areas. The following questions guide our analysis: to what extent are households with children, and particularly white households with children, more racially and ethnically residentially segregated than other kinds of households, such as non-family households? Does household composition play a different role in the segregation of white households from others than it does in the segregation of black, Hispanic, and Asian households? Do socioeconomic status and marital status of the householder also play a role in shaping these patterns?

To answer these questions we use data from the 2000 decennial census and calculate different measures of residential segregation in all metropolitan areas where various groups are present in sufficient numbers. We examine the segregation of whites, blacks, Asians, and Hispanics from alternative reference groups and calculate levels of segregation by household poverty status and the marital status of the householder. In doing so, we aim to get a better sense of not only the role that race plays in shaping residential patterns, but how race interacts with household composition in producing the levels of racial and ethnic segregation we see today.

Section snippets

Background

Black–white segregation in American metropolitan areas remains quite pervasive, though it has declined significantly over the past few decades. Hispanic–white and Asian–white segregation levels are lower than black–white ones, though they did not decline in the same fashion over the same time period, in large part due to continued immigration that is reinforcing immigrant enclaves (Iceland, 2009, Iceland and Scopilliti, 2008, Iceland and Nelson, 2008).

A number of theories have been offered to

Data and methods

We use summary file (SF) three data from the 2000 census to examine the residential patterns of households by race and household composition across neighborhoods in U.S. metropolitan areas. Our analyses consist of a series of cross-tabulations showing the association between race/ethnicity, household structure, and patterns of residential segregation. First, we calculate segregation indexes for all households by race and Hispanic origin. Then we calculate indexes for different household types:

Results

Table 1 shows residential segregation patterns of non-Hispanic white households from black, Hispanic, and Asian households using the dissimilarity index. For each reference group (i.e., column) calculation, we use a constant set of metropolitan areas where all groups are present in sufficient numbers (at least 1000 group members). We do this to ensure that differences in mean segregation scores across different household types are not merely a function of different sets of metropolitan areas

Conclusion

The goal of this analysis has been to examine the relationship between household composition and racial and ethnic residential segregation. Using tract-level summary files from the 2000 decennial census, we estimated levels of metropolitan segregation, as represented by the dissimilarity and interaction indexes, for different groups. Dissimilarity and interaction provide complementary pieces of information about the residential patterns of these groups because they tap into different dimensions

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