Racial Attraction or Racial Avoidance in American Suburbs?

Abstract

The principle of homophily is central to several social-science theories. When applied to the study of population change in geographic areas, these theories predict racial homogeneity in residential settlement patterns. The concentration of one group in an area is expected to attract same-group members while deterring others. We examine this prediction using data on 1980–90 population change for four ethnic groups in 1,672 U.S. suburban cities. The findings from our analysis contradict the principle of homophily. For example, during the 1980s, black populations grew faster in those suburbs that had smaller, rather than larger, percentages of blacks. We explain these findings by spatial-assimilation and place-stratification models. Minority suburbanization is viewed as a process driven primarily by status rather than by ethnic considerations.