ACS Segregation Data II

In a natural followup to yesterday’s post, Remapping Debate this morning released a look at the segregation patterns revealed by an analysis of the American Community Survey at the Census Block Group level. (A Census Block Group is smaller than a census tract and more closely represents natural neighborhood size).

Highlights from their national findings:

• In a country that is only 12.1 percent African-American, 30 percent of African-Americans live in Census Block Groups that are 75 percent African-American or more.
• 75 percent of African-Americans in the country live in only 16 percent of the Census Block Groups in the United States.
• 50 percent of African-Americans live in Census Block Groups that have a combined African-American and Latino population of 66.85 percent or more (nationally, the latino population is approximately 15.8 percent, so the combined African-American and Latino population is just shy of only 28 percent).

Remapping Debate also released a mapping tool.  Below are screen shots of maps of Houston and Austin.  Areas in Red are estimated to have less than 3% African American population, areas in Black have greater than 50% African American population.*

Link: Mapping and analysis of new data documents still-segregated America

Note: * while Remapping Debate doesn’t provide margins of error, Block Group data should be considered to have at minimum a 1-2% margin of error on population estimates.