Wednesday, August 07, 2019

Segregated America


The Anti-Discrimination Center has produced a series of maps to visualize the levels of residential segregation in the United States. The maps use 2010 Census data and 2016 5-year American Community Survey data to show the percentage of the white, black, Hispanic/Latino and Asian populations living in each state, county and census tract.

There are three different interactive maps in the Anti-Discrimination Center Segregated series. The first map (shown in the screenshot above) allows you to see the majority population in each state, county or census block area. On this map each location is colored to show the racial group which makes up the largest percentage of the population. The more intense the color of a racial group then the larger their percentage of the population.


It is when you zoom in on individual cities that you really notice how segregated America can be. For example in New York you can see how one block can be completely dominated by one racial group while an adjacent neighborhood can be dominated by a completely different racial group.

The Washington Post has used the same census and American Community Survey data to also map the level of segregation in American towns and cities. The Segregation Map is a huge dot map of the United States, visualizing the ethnic breakdown of the American population. The WaPo map also includes a choropleth view which colors each census block area by how diverse it is.

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