Black Immigrants and Native-Born Blacks in the U.S.: Similar or Divergent Residential Patterns?

Melissa Scopilliti, University of Maryland

High levels of Black-White residential segregation have been observed in U.S. metropolitan areas. Yet little is known about the residential patterns of foreign-born Blacks and only a moderate amount about the segregation between Blacks and other minority groups. This analysis examines the settlement patterns of Black immigrants to determine the usefulness of spatial assimilation theory for explaining their residential patterns. We compute dissimilarity and isolation indices using restricted long-form data from the 2000 Census and address the following four questions. How segregated are foreign- and native-born Blacks from other race/ethnic groups? Are foreign-born Blacks segregated from native-born Blacks or do they inhabit similar places? In addition, what is the role of socioeconomic factors in explaining the residential patterns of foreign-born Blacks? Lastly, is country of origin an important factor shaping the residential patterns of Black immigrants?