Suburban Residence of Black Caribbean and Black African Immigrants: A Test of the Spatial Assimilation Model

Abstract

The present study investigates nativity status and place–of–birth differences in suburban residence among black ethnic groups. The main objective is to evaluate the extent to which the relationship between black immigrants’ individual–level socioeconomic status characteristics and suburban outcomes conforms to the tenets of the spatial assimilation model. Using micro–data from the 2006–2010 American Community Survey, we employed logistic regression models to determine the effects of the relevant predictors on suburban residence of whites and black ethnic groups. The results reveal that black immigrants’ suburban outcomes vary depending upon the racial/ethnic background and nativity status of the reference group. While both black Caribbean and African immigrants are less likely to reside in the suburbs than native–born white households, they are more likely to do so than native–born black Americans, even when controlling for differences in income, education, and homeownership. We also find black immigrants’ probability of suburban residence varies by English language proficiency and length of time spent in the United States in ways that contradict the tenets of the spatial assimilation model.