Latinos, residential segregation and spatial assimilation in micropolitan areas: Exploring the American dilemma on a new frontier

This paper examines the dimensions and dynamics of Latino-white residential segregation in micropolitan areas, newly defined urban clusters with a “core” population that ranges from 10,000 to 50,000. Studies of Latino-white segregation typically focus on metropolitan areas. We shift the focus to micropolitan areas given their growing importance as Latino destinations. Using the most recent census, we find both important opportunities and constraints are reflected in the patterns we uncover. With few exceptions, the level of segregation evident across our sample falls in the low to moderate range, highlighting the opportunities for spatial assimilation that Latinos secure when they settle in these areas rather than the largest urban centers. Consistent with spatial assimilation models, these opportunities are tied, at least in part, to class factors. In micropolitan areas, the Latino-white income gap is typically smaller and the homeownership rate is, on average, higher. Further, Latinos become less segregated from non-Hispanic whites with gains in SES. However, several findings also point to the continuing significance of race/ethnicity, consistent with growing concerns about “segmented assimilation.” Latinos in micropolitan areas with large Puerto Rican populations are much more segregated from whites than their counterparts in other areas. Intergroup segregation persists even after we control for social class and typically remains higher than intragroup segregation across a broader spectrum of cases. Most telling perhaps, white outmigration has occurred this past decade in nearly half of the areas we examine. These findings underscore the importance of broadening current debates about segregation and the “new American dilemma” to include micropolitan areas, as the complexities of Latino assimilation increasingly play out in these communities.