Black-white Residential Segregation Research Articles

Where Does the Black-White Life Expectancy Gap Come From? The Deadly Consequences of Residential Segregation.

The disparity in life expectancy between white and black Americans exceeds five years for men and three years for women. While prior research has investigated the roles of healthcare, health behaviors, biological risk, socioeconomic status, and life course effects on black mortality, the literature on the geographic origins of the gap is more limited. This study examines how the black-white life expectancy gap varies across counties and how much of the national gap is attributable to within-county racial inequality versus differences between counties. The estimates suggest that over 90% of the national gap can be attributed to within-county factors. Using a quasi-experimental research design, I find that black-white residential segregation increases the gap by approximately 16 years for men and five years for women. The segregation effect loads heavily on causes of death associated with access to and quality of healthcare; safety and violence; and public health measures. Residential segregation does not appear to operate through health behaviors or individual-level factors, but instead acts primarily through institutional mechanisms. Efforts to address racial disparities in mortality should focus on reducing racial residential segregation or reducing inequalities in the mechanisms through which residential segregation acts: public services, employment opportunities, and community resources.

Residential Racial Segregation in Aortic Stenosis Diagnosis and Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation Among Medicare Patients

BackgroundTranscatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) rates are lower among Black compared with White individuals. However, it is unclear whether racial residential segregation, which remains common in the United States, contributes to observed disparities in TAVI rates. ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between county-level racial segregation, and aortic stenosis (AS) diagnosis, management, and outcomes. MethodsWe identified Black and White Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries age ≥65 years living in metropolitan areas of the United States (2016-2019). Using the American Community Survey’s Black-White residential segregation index, a measure of geographic racial distribution, we determined segregation in each beneficiary’s county of residence. Using hierarchical modeling, we determined the association between racial segregation and rates of AS diagnosis, TAVI receipt, and 30-day clinical outcomes (mortality, readmission, stroke). ResultsThere were 29,264,075 beneficiaries, of whom 22% lived in a high-segregation county. Among Black beneficiaries, high-segregation county residence was associated with decreased rates of AS diagnosis (OR: 0.97; 95% CI: 0.96-0.98) and TAVI (OR: 0.89; 95% CI: 0.86-0.93) compared with low-segregation county residence. In contrast, among White beneficiaries, high-segregation county residence was associated with higher rates of AS diagnosis (OR: 1.02; 95% CI: 1.02-1.03) and no differences in TAVI (OR: 1.00; 95% CI: 0.99-1.00). Segregation and race were not independently associated with 30-day mortality. ConclusionsAmong Black Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries, living in a high-segregation county was independently associated with decreased rates of AS diagnosis and TAVI, an association not seen among White beneficiaries. Residential racial segregation may contribute to racial disparities seen in AS care.

Association between racial residential segregation and Black-White disparities in cardiovascular disease mortality

Racial residential segregation is associated with racial health inequities, but it is unclear if segregation may exacerbate Black-White disparities in cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality. This study aimed to assess associations between Black-White residential segregation, CVD mortality rates among non-Hispanic (NH) Black and NH White populations, and Black-White disparities in CVD mortality. This cross-sectional study analyzed Black-White residential segregation, as measured by county-level interaction index, of US counties, county-level CVD mortality among NH White and NH black adults aged 25 years and older, and county-level Black-White disparities in CVD mortality in years 2014 to 2017. Age-adjusted, county-level NH Black CVD mortality rates and NH White cardiovascular disease mortality rates, as well as group-level relative risk ratios for Black-White cardiovascular disease mortality, were calculated. Sequential generalized linear models adjusted for county-level socioeconomic and neighborhood factors were used to estimate associations between residential segregation and cardiovascular mortality rates among NH Black and NH White populations. Relative risk ratio tests were used to compare Black-White disparities in the most segregated counties to disparities in the least segregated counties. We included 1,286 counties with ≥5% Black populations in the main analysis. Among adults aged ≥25 years, there were 2,611,560 and 408,429 CVD deaths among NH White and NH Black individuals, respectively. In the unadjusted model, counties in the highest tertile of segregation had 9% higher (95% CI, 1%-20% higher, P=.04) rates of NH Black CVD mortality than counties in the lowest tertile of segregation. In the multivariable adjusted model, the most segregated counties had 15% higher (95% CI, 0.5% to 38% higher, P=.04) rates of NH Black CVD mortality than the least segregated counties. In the most segregated counties, NH Black individuals were 33% more likely to die of CVD than NH White individuals (RR 1.33, 95% CI 1.32 to 1.33, P < .001). Counties with increased Black-White residential segregation have higher rates of NH Black CVD mortality and larger Black-White disparities in CVD mortality. Identifying the causal mechanisms through which racial residential segregation widens disparities in CVD mortality requires further study.

The Role of Suburbanization in Metropolitan Segregation After 1940.

The three decades from 1940 through 1970 mark a turning point in the spatial scale of Black-White residential segregation in the United States compared with earlier years. We decompose metropolitan segregation into three components: segregation within the city, within the suburbs, and between the city and its suburbs. We then show that extreme levels of segregation were well established in most cities by 1940, and they changed only modestly by 1970. In this period, changes in segregation were greater at the metropolitan scale, driven by racially selective population growth in the suburbs. We also examine major sources of rising segregation, including region, metropolitan total, and Black population sizes, and indicators of redlining in the central cities based on risk maps prepared by the Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) in the late 1930s. In addition to overall regional differences, segregation between the city and suburbs and within suburbia increased more in metropolitan areas with larger Black populations, but this relationship was found only in the North. In contrast to some recent theorizing, there is no association between preparation of an HOLC risk map or the share of city neighborhoods that were redlined and subsequent change in any component of segregation.

Analysis of Residential Segregation and Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Severe Maternal Morbidity Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Persistent racial and ethnic disparities in severe maternal morbidity (SMM) in the US remain a public health concern. Structural racism leaves women of color in a disadvantaged situation especially during COVID-19, leading to disproportionate pandemic afflictions among racial and ethnic minority women. To examine racial and ethnic disparities in SMM rates before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and whether the disparities varied with level of Black residential segregation. A statewide population-based retrospective cohort study used birth certificates linked to all-payer childbirth claims data in South Carolina. Participants included women who gave birth between January 2018 and June 2021. Data were analyzed from December 2021 to February 2022. Exposures were (1) period when women gave birth, either before the pandemic (January 2018 to February 2020) or during the pandemic (March 2020 to June 2021) and (2) Black-White residential segregation (isolation index), categorizing US Census tracts in a county as low (<40%), medium (40%-59%), and high (≥60%). SMM was identified using International Statistical Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) codes developed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Multilevel logistic regressions with an interrupted approach were used, adjusting for maternal-level and facility-level factors, accounting for residential county-level random effects. Of 166 791 women, 95 098 (57.0%) lived in low-segregated counties (mean [SD] age, 28.1 [5.7] years; 5126 [5.4%] Hispanic; 20 523 [21.6%] non-Hispanic Black; 62 690 [65.9%] White), and 23 521 (14.1%) women (mean [SD] age, 28.1 [5.8] years; 782 [3.3%] Hispanic; 12 880 [54.8%] non-Hispanic Black; 7988 [34.0%] White) lived in high-segregated areas. Prepandemic SMM rates were decreasing, followed by monthly increasing trends after March 2020. On average, living in high-segregated communities was associated with higher odds of SMM (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.61; 95% CI, 1.06-2.34). Black women regardless of residential segregation had higher odds of SMM than White women (aOR, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.11-1.96 for low-segregation; 2.12; 95% CI, 1.38-3.26 for high-segregation). Hispanic women living in low-segregated communities had lower odds of SMM (aOR, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.25-0.90) but those living in high-segregated communities had nearly twice the odds of SMM (aOR, 1.91; 95% CI, 1.07-4.17) as their White counterparts. Living in high-segregated Black communities in South Carolina was associated with racial and ethnic SMM disparities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Black vs White disparities persisted with no signs of widening gaps, whereas Hispanic vs White disparities were exacerbated. Policy reforms on reducing residential segregation or combating the corresponding structural racism are warranted to help improve maternal health.

Multiple measures of structural racism as predictors of U.S. county-level COVID-19 cases and deaths

ABSTRACT Minoritized racial groups in the U.S. have experienced disproportionately higher rates of COVID-19 cases and deaths. Studies have linked structural racism as a critical factor causing these disproportionate health burdens. We analyse the relationships between county-level COVID-19 cases and deaths and five measures of structural racism on Black Americans: Black–White residential segregation, differences in educational attainment, unemployment, incarceration rates, and health insurance coverage between Black and White Americans. When controlling for socioeconomic, demographic, health and behavioural factors significant relationships were found between all measures of structural racism with cases and/or deaths except Black–White differences in health insurance coverage. Black–White disparities in educational attainment and incarceration were the strongest predictors. The results varied greatly across regions of the U.S. We also found strong relationships between COVID-19 and mobility and the proportion of foreign-born non-citizens. This work supports the important need to confront structural racism on multiple fronts to address health disparities.

Environmental Justice: Segregation, Noise Pollution and Health Disparities near the Hartsfield-Jackson Airport Area in Atlanta

The inquiry in this paper has two parts: (1) an examination of potential disparities in exposure to airport noise pollution between Blacks (non-Hispanic) and Whites (non-Hispanic) around the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson airport (AHJA) area, and (2) a binary logistic regression analysis studying factors contributing to these disparities. The proposed model is that the difference in noise exposure measured by Net Exposure Difference score is a function of the degree of Black-White residential segregation; differences in poverty rates between Blacks and Whites; some socio-economic-demographic variables and four health indicators - noise annoyance (NA); sleep disturbance (SD); hearing impairment (HI); and cardiovascular disorder (CVD).A stratified random sampling method and telephonic survey using a 43-questions questionnaire among the adult households around the AHJA area produced 237 observations on Black and White households over a period of 2 years.Parameter estimates reveals disparities in exposure to aircraft noise exposure between the Black and White households within the 10-mile radius of the airport area indicating environmental injustice. The odds-ratios from the binary logistic regression suggests residential segregation, difference in poverty rates, race, education, as well as health conditions like hearing impairment and sleep disturbances have a statistically significant association with this disparity in noise exposure.

The intricacy of structural racism measurement: A pilot development of a latent-class multidimensional measure

BackgroundStructural racism is a complex system of inequities working in tandem to cause poor health for communities of color, especially for Black people. However, the multidimensional nature of structural racism is not captured by existing measures used by population health scholars to study health inequities. Multidimensional measures can be made using complex analytical techniques. Whether or not the multidimensional measure of structural racism provides more insight than the existing unidimensional measures is unknown.MethodsWe derived measures of Black-White residential segregation, inequities in education, employment, income, and homeownership, evaluated for 2,338 Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States (US), and consolidated them into a multidimensional measure of structural racism using a latent class model. We compared the median COVID-19 vaccination rates observed across 54 New York City (NYC) PUMAs by levels (high/low) of structural racism and the multidimensional class using the Kruskal-Wallis test. This study was conducted in March 2021.FindingsOur latent class model identified three structural racism classes in the US, all of which can be found in NYC. We observed intricate interactions between the five dimensions of structural racism of interest that cannot be simply classified as “high” (i.e., high on all dimensions of structural racism), “medium,” or “low.” Compared to Class A PUMAs with the median rate of two-dose completion of 6·9%, significantly lower rates were observed for Class B PUMAs (5·5%, p = 0·04) and Class C PUMAs (5·2%, p = 0·01). When the vaccination rates were evaluated based on each dimension of structural racism, significant differences were observed between PUMAs with high and low Black-White income inequity only (7·2% vs. 5·3%, p = 0·001).InterpretationOur analysis suggests that measuring structural racism as a multidimensional determinant of health provides additional insight into the mechanisms underlying population health inequity vis-à-vis using multiple unidimensional measures without capturing their joint effects.FundingThis project is funded by the Robert J. Jones Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center, University of Minnesota. Additional support is provided by the Minnesota Population Center, which is funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (Grant P2C HD041023).

The Interaction of Race and Place: Predictors of Fatal Police Shootings of Black Victims at the Incident, Census Tract, City, and State Levels, 2013–2018

We develop and analyze a multilevel model of fatal police shootings to better understand the interplay between individual-level and contextual-level factors in incidents of police use of deadly force. We use a three-level hierarchical logistic regression model to identify Census tract-, city-, and state-level predictors of fatal police shootings and a four-level model to identify predictors of fatal police shootings of black victims at the incident, Census tract, city, and state levels. We find that higher levels of concentrated disadvantage and interpersonal firearm violence in a Census tract are significant predictors of the likelihood of any fatal police shooting occurring in that tract. We also find that conditional upon a fatal police shooting having occurred in a Census tract, knowing that the victim was unarmed is a significant predictor of the likelihood that the victim was black. Three other predictors of a police shooting victim being black were a higher proportion of black residents in the Census tract, a greater presence of police officers in the city, and a higher level of black-white residential segregation in the state. We conclude that reducing excessive police use of deadly force requires consideration of not only the individual interactions between officers and citizens, but also the quantity of interactions and the characteristics of the place in which these interactions occur. Special consideration must be given to ameliorating the consequences of structural racism, including racial segregation, over-policing of predominantly black neighborhoods, concentrated disadvantage in segregated neighborhoods, and racial inequalities in income and wealth.

Lack of community-oriented policing practices partially mediates the relationship between racial residential segregation and “black-on-black” homicide rates

Although black-white racial residential segregation in the US has continued to decline, blacks still experience greater levels of segregation than other racial groups. The present study examined whether a lack of community policing practices in 2012 mediated the relationship between racial segregation in 2010 and intraracial (i.e., “black-onblack”) homicides in 2013. We collected incorporated-place-level secondary data from several sources and performed mediation analysis to test relationships among variables. Consistent with previous research, higher levels of segregation were associated with higher intraracial homicide rates; however, the effect was mediated by lack of community policing efforts. Specifically, our findings suggest that lack of community policing practices might explain 13% of the relationship between black-white residential segregation and intraracial homicide.Given the history and complexity of racial residential segregation in the US, one immediate measure by which policymakers might improve health in segregated places is the implementation and expansion of community policing initiatives.

Black Women Social Workers in the Great Depression: A Test of Sheltered Labor Market Theory

Sheltered labor market theory proposes that, under favorable public-sector policies, members of an outcast minority group can find relief from discrimination by performing an occupation that delivers social welfare services to a co-ethnic clientele that the majority group seeks to avoid. The present study tests this proposition, examining black women’s employment in social work during the Great Depression. Regression analyses of census data support the theory, suggesting that black women had a sheltered labor market in the social work profession in the North, where official non-discrimination policies in New Deal job creation programs were more scrupulously enforced than in the South. In northern cities, black women’s employment in social work is positively associated with black–white residential segregation as well as with blacks’ employment in public emergency work projects (e.g., the WPA). Thus, consistent with sheltered labor market theory, a minority group’s representation in a social welfare delivery occupation is enhanced by both public-sector economic intervention and the minority’s social and spatial distance from the majority.

Does Black Socioeconomic Mobility Explain Recent Progress Toward Black-White Residential Integration?

Studies of racial residential segregation have found that black-white segregation in U.S. metropolitan areas has declined slowly but steadily since the early 1970s. As of this writing, black-white residential segregation in the United States is approximately 25 % lower than it was in 1970. To identify the sources of this decline, we used individual-level, geocoded data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) to compare the residential attainment of different cohorts of blacks. We analyzed these data using Blinder-Oaxaca regression decomposition techniques that partition the decline in residential segregation among cohorts into the decline resulting from (1) changes in the social and economic characteristics of blacks and (2) changes in the association between blacks' social and economic characteristics and the level of residential segregation they experience. Our findings show that black cohorts entering adulthood prior to the civil rights movement of the 1960s experienced consistently high levels of residential segregation at middle age, but that cohorts transitioning to adulthood during and after this period of racial progress experienced significantly lower levels of residential segregation. We find that the decline in black-white residential segregation for these later cohorts reflects both their greater social and economic attainment and a strengthening of the association between socioeconomic characteristics and residential segregation. Educational gains for the post-civil rights era cohorts and improved access to integrated neighborhoods for high school graduates and college attendees in these later cohorts were the principal source of improved residential integration over this period.

Daily Mobility in the Black-White Segregated City: Linking Material Realities and Repertoires of Meaning

As the overt institutional maintenance of black-white residential segregation declines, we can investigate its persistence by analyzing the racial projects of everyday life. Daily mobility—movement from place to place for the sake of routine activities—represents one such project. Daily mobility patterns reflect the material realities of uneven resource distribution across neighborhoods and unequal means of access across residents. Yet, daily mobility patterns additionally reflect residents’ subjective interpretations and agentic navigations of space. Various repertoires of meaning that evoke racial dynamics can maintain or challenge the ideational foundations of the racial order. In turn, they can deter or encourage the crossing of segregation boundaries. The daily mobility framework acknowledges that experiences of segregation can vary considerably, as they are shaped by both spatial-opportunity distance and social-psychological distance. As a means of illustration, this project presents divergent daily mobility accounts drawn from interviews with 12 residents of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Racial Differences in Age at First Sexual Intercourse: Residential Racial Segregation and the Black-White Disparity among U.S. Adolescents

The age of adolescents at first sexual intercourse is an important risk factor for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and adolescent pregnancy. Black adolescents are at higher risk than white adolescents for first sexual intercourse at younger ages as well as STDs and pregnancy. Individual- and family-level factors do not fully explain this disparity. We examined whether five dimensions of black-white residential racial segregation can help explain the racial disparity in age at first sexual intercourse. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 and U.S. Census 2000 data, we performed multiple hierarchical discrete time-to-event analyses on a nationally representative cohort of adolescents followed since 1997. Although the cohort study is ongoing, we used data from 1997 through 2005. Concentration and unevenness significantly modified the association of race and age at first sexual intercourse. However, stratified results suggested differences in the effect of race on age at first sexual intercourse at each level of segregation across dimensions of segregation. Residential racial segregation may modify the black-white disparity in risk of first sexual intercourse at younger ages, but these associations are complex. Future studies should be conducted to elucidate the causal mechanisms.

Black-White residential segregation and diabetes status: Results from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System

Racial residential segregation in the United States is generally associated differences in health outcomes among Blacks and Whites due to differential exposures to physical, social and economic resources. While several studies have explored the association between segregation and several chronic conditions in the US, few have specifically examined diabetes using a nationally representative population-based sample. The current study relies on 2005 data from both the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS) and the American Community Survey (ACS) to explore the association between segregation, socioeconomic status and diabetes. Using multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression, we present models that account for clustering of individuals within metropolitan areas and are adjusted for objective environmental measures (including segregation) and potential individual-level confounders (including education, employment, and income) among a sample of 121,321 adults who were at least 18 years old. After controlling for individual-level factors, Blacks residing in highly segregated areas have the same odds of being diagnosed with diabetes as Whites. Whites are more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes in areas where there are higher percentages of Blacks than in areas with low Black representation. Moreover, in this national sample, there is no statistical association between Blacks residing in highly segregated neighborhoods and diabetes risk. However, the increased prevalence of diabetes among Whites living in Black metropolitan areas suggests that future studies are needed to explore the linkages between levels of segregation and diabetes risk.

Female Entrepreneurship, Agglomeration, and a New Spatial Mismatch

Abstract Female entrepreneurs may be less networked than their male counterparts and so derive less benefit from agglomeration. They may also have greater domestic burdens and therefore have higher commuting costs. This paper develops a theoretical model showing that either of these forces can lead to the segregation of male- and female-owned businesses, with female entrepreneurs choosing locations farther from agglomerations and commuting shorter distances. Empirical analysis is consistent with these predictions. Female-owned businesses are segregated, often to a degree similar to black-white residential segregation. Female-owned enterprises are less exposed to agglomeration, with 10% to 20% less own-industry employment nearby.

Won't You Be My Neighbor? Race, Class, and Residence in Los Angeles By Camille Zubrinsky Charles

Residential segregation means that minorities often live in undesirable neighborhoods; yet where we live affects our economic opportunity, social networks, and quality of life. Camille Zubrinsky Charles's book, Won't You Be My Neighbor? Race Class, and Residence in Los Angeles, adds to existing research that has historically focused solely on black-white residential segregation by expanding the scope to include the residential preferences and racial attin_;des of native and foreign-born Latinos and Asians.

The Measurement of Neighborhood Socioeconomic Characteristics and Black and White Residential Segregation in Metropolitan Detroit: Implications for the Study of Social Disparities in Health

Research has suggested that the pattern of residence (integration or segregation) alone is insufficient to explain health disparities by race. Socioeconomic characteristics of neighborhoods where blacks and whites reside must also be considered to explain health disparities. This article has three aims: (1) to describe the component socioeconomic characteristics of census tracts (neighborhoods) of residence in metropolitan Detroit in 2000 for three indexes of socioeconomic position (SEP); (2) to assess the concordance of the three indexes of SEP of census tracts (neighborhoods) categorized into quintiles based on metropolitan Detroit census data in 2000; and (3) to compare the extent to which black–white residential segregation is revealed by SEP of neighborhoods in metropolitan Detroit. Census data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census (SF3) were used to define three indexes of SEP of neighborhoods, the modified Darden/Kamel Composite Socioeconomic Index, the modified Krieger Composite Deprivation Index, and an index of percentage poverty. Residential segregation was measured using the index of dissimilarity. The three indexes similarly captured variability in neighborhood socioeconomic characteristics. Further, sharp geographic inequality was revealed by race and socioeconomic status in the Detroit metropolitan area. The social and spatial structure created by the indexes will help researchers and policymakers better understand the effects of racial and socioeconomic characteristics as well as racial residential segregation on the complex factors related to social disparities in health by race.

FROM OLD SOUTH TO NEW SOUTH? BLACK-WHITE RESIDENTIAL SEGREGATION IN MICROPOLITAN AREAS

This article examines black-white residential segregation in micropolitan areas across the South. Micropolitan areas are newly defined urban clusters with a core population that ranges from 10,000 to 50,000. By shifting the focus to the nonmetropolitan South, we take debates about the “American dilemma” back to a historically important terrain of black-white relations that few scholars have systematically examined in the post-Civil Rights era. Using the most recent census, we find that the dynamics of residential segregation in our sample of micropolitan areas reflect both important opportunities and constraints. In contrast to their counterparts in metropolitan areas, blacks in the nonmetropolitan South face “only” moderate levels of segregation. Surprisingly, southern micropolitan areas afford greater opportunities for spatial assimilation to the least economically advantaged blacks as well as those who are more advantaged. Perhaps most importantly, this finding holds for micropolitan areas located in the historic Black Belt as well as elsewhere; however, several patterns emerge that suggest a set of barriers to spatial assimilation similar to those facing African Americans in metropolitan areas. In sum, our analysis clarifies the complexities of black-white segregation in the “New South/Old South,” pushing scholars to more systematically map the distinct trajectories of “American Apartheid” across time and place in the United States.

Conservative Protestant Congregations and Racial Residential Segregation: Evaluating the Closed Community Thesis in Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Counties

Structural explanations of residential segregation usually focus on the role of discrimination in the real estate and mortgage lending industries in generating blackwhite residential segregation in metropolitan areas. However, these explanations overlook the role of social institutions in integrating or isolating groups in a community. To address this issue, I develop the closed community thesis and argue that the theological and value orientation of white Conservative Protestant congregations undermines the creation of bridging group ties. Drawing on county-level data from the 2000 Census of Population and Housing and the 2000 Churches and Church Congregations data, I test the hypothesis that the number of Conservative Protestant congregations per 1,000 non-Hispanic whites is directly associated with levels of residential segregation between non-Hispanic blacks and whites. I find that counties with a large number of Conservative Protestant congregations exhibit higher levels of residential segregation along multiple dimensions. Separate models estimated by metropolitan status and region indicate that the effect of Conservative Protestant congregations is consistent across a variety of localities. I conclude by discussing the theoretical implications of the role of religion in explanations of residential segregation and the analysis of segregation outside of metropolitan areas.