Least segregated US metros in fast-growing South and West

(September 2011) U.S. 2010 Census results show that black-white residential segregation declined modestly since 2000, continuing the gradual pace begun in 1980...

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By Paola Scommegna
Population Reference Bureau

(September 2011) U.S. 2010 Census results show that black-white residential segregation declined modestly since 2000, continuing the gradual pace begun in 1980.

Among large metropolitan areas with a total population of 500,000 or more, the least segregated metros were located in the faster-growing South and West, while the most segregated metro areas were mainly concentrated in the slower-growing Northeast and Midwest (see table).

The 10 least-segregated metro areas all grew faster than the national average of 11 percent between 2000 and 2010, with seven of them seeing increases of 20 percent or more, reports Kelvin Pollard, PRB demographer and co-author of PRB’s Reports on America: “First Results From the 2010 Census.” Only one of the 10 most-segregated metros experienced growth rates that reached even half the national average.

“Least-segregated Raleigh and Las Vegas were among the nation’s fastest growing metros with growth rates topping more than 40 percent for the decade, while most-segregated Detroit, Cleveland, and Buffalo were among those that lost population,” he notes.

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