Map: Where Hispanics are most segregated

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Hispanic segregation varies a lot across regions of the U.S., reflecting the history of how different populations have settled in the country. This map by William H. Frey, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program, depicts segregation on a scale from 0 (complete integration) to 100 (complete segregation). The green dots represent less segregated areas, while the blue dots are more segregated areas.

Frey’s research finds that the most segregated areas are the major cities that serve as gateways for Hispanic immigration: Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Chicago, San Francisco, San Diego, Dallas and Houston. These areas contain established enclaves that continue to receive new waves of immigrants, which keeps their segregation levels relatively constant, Frey writes. The Northeast is also relatively segregated, due to the higher influx of Puerto Ricans into Boston, Providence, Philadelphia and other areas.

Areas in other parts of the country, especially the interior and the South, show lower levels of segregation. As Hispanics continue to move away from gateway cities into other areas, more will reside in less segregated neighborhoods. Overall, neighborhood segregation between whites and Hispanics in the U.S. is much lower than segregation between whites and blacks.

This map is reprinted with permission from “Diversity Explosion: How New Racial Demographics are Remaking America” by William H. Frey (Brookings Press, 2014).

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