Hispanic Residential Segregation in New Immigrant Destinations

Daniel T. Lichter, Cornell University
Domenico Parisi, Mississippi State University
Steven M. Grice, Mississippi State University
Michael Taquino, Mississippi State University

The influx of Hispanics into new immigrant destinations has raised important policy questions about their successful incorporation into community life. This paper provides baseline estimates of neighborhood segregation in Hispanic "boom towns". Unlike previous research, our analyses are based on block rather than census track data from the 1990 and 2000 summary files of the U.S. Census Bureau, and include small towns and suburban communities in both metro and nonmetro places. We have several specific objectives. First, we identify places with exceptionally high absolute and percentage increases in the Hispanic population between 1990 and 2000. Second, we calculate various indexes of Hispanic-non-Hispanic white residential segregation (e.g., D and P*). Third, we estimate place-based multivariate models of segregation that include both place and county predictors (e.g., percent Hispanic, Hispanic-white income inequality, community size and region, etc.). Our study provides--for the first time--estimates of Hispanic residential segregation in new immigrant destinations.