Racial Diversity Still Lacking in US Suburbs Per Study

Caitlin Dempsey

Updated:

A study out of Princeton University published in Ethnic and Racial Studies has found that United States suburbs are still mostly dominated by white residents.  Using US Census tract data, the researchers modeled patterns of white and minority suburbanization and segregation across 287 metropolitan statistical areas (geographical regions with a relatively high population density) from 1970 to 2010.  From the study:

Whites made up 68% of all suburban dwellers (down from 93% in 1970) and Hispanic residents made up about 15% (up from 2% in 1970), while the proportion of suburban blacks rose at a considerably slower rate from approximately 5% to 10%.

The author of the study, Douglas Massey from the Office of Population Research at Princeton University notes, “As people move up the socioeconomic ladder, they translate their status attainments into living in an improved neighborhood and in the United States, and movement from cities to suburbs has long been an important part of this process.”

Racial composition of cities versus suburbs in US metropolitan areas 1970–2010. Figure: Massey and Tannen, 2017.
Racial composition of cities versus suburbs in US metropolitan areas 1970–2010. Figure: Massey and Tannen, 2017.

In the figure above, by 2010 central cities have become a majority-minority (where no group constitutes an absolute majority).  In contrast, the suburbs are still dominated by white residents, making up 68.4% of the population.

The study:

Suburbanization and segregation in the United States: 1970–2010 by Douglas S. Massey and Jonathan Tannen. Ethnic and Racial Studies.

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Caitlin Dempsey
Caitlin Dempsey is the editor of Geography Realm and holds a master's degree in Geography from UCLA as well as a Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) from SJSU.