A new research brief from the US2010 Project shows that the average black or Hispanic household earning over $75,000 lives in a poorer neighborhood than the average white resident earningunder $40,000.
The US2010 Project's data show in most metro areas there are similar neighborhood gaps in median and percapita income; percent of residents with a college education or professional occupation; home ownership;and housing vacancy (http://www.s4.brown.edu/us2010/SeparateAndUnequal/Default.aspx).
"Given that blacks and Hispanics have 30 to 40 percent lower incomes than whites, it's not surprising thatthey live in worse neighborhoods," said US 2010 Project Director John Logan, author of the study and aBrown University sociologist. "But these results show that even high-earning minorities tend to besegregated into less desirable areas."
To download the brief, see http://www.s4.brown.edu/us2010/Projects/Reports.htm.
The Pew Research Center reported in July that the race gap in household wealth has grown sharply in the lastfour years. Neighborhood disparities are one source of this trend. Even in good times, because minoritieslive in worse locations than whites with similar incomes, the value of their homes tends not to rise as much.In the current recession their neighborhoods are the most likely to suffer high rates of foreclosure and loss ofhome equity. Because most of the wealth of average Americans is in their homes, segregation is a bigcontributor to wealth inequalities.
Logan's research on segregation is part of US 2010, a program of research on changes in American society in therecent past, supported by the Russell Sage Foundation and Brown University.
"The special feature of US 2010 is that it tackles questions of change in American society not from theperspective of one scholar or one topic, but with the expertise of a nationwide team of scholars who were broughttogether for this purpose," Logan said. More information is available on the project webpage:www.s4.brown.edu/us2010.
The US 2010 project will culminate with a 14-chapter book published by the Russell Sage Foundation, which hasa 50-year tradition of publishing respected, authoritative, census-based research.
Source: Brown University