The Roles of Race, Class, and Residential Preferences in the Neighborhood Racial Composition of Middle‐Class Blacks and Whites

Objective. This analysis extends the residential attainment literature by examining the neighborhood racial composition of middle‐class blacks and whites while controlling for residential preferences. Methods. Using the Multi‐City Study of Urban Inequality and 1990 Census data, the spatial assimilation and place stratification theories of locational attainment are tested. Results. As in previous research, support is shown for both theories; for blacks, stronger human capital characteristics translate into neighborhoods that are less racially segregated. However, even when middle‐class blacks prefer to live in integrated neighborhoods, on average, they live in neighborhoods that are about 60 percent black and 30 percent white, while middle‐class whites who prefer to live in integrated neighborhoods reside in neighborhoods that, on average, are 10 percent black and 85 percent white. Conclusions. Although incorporating residential preferences into models that predict neighborhood racial composition proves important, the relative inability of middle‐class blacks to implement their preferences indicates powerful social forces that maintain “American apartheid.”