Residential segregation by race in Mississippi, 1980

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Abstract
Recent censuses have revealed consistently a high degree of black‐white residential segregation in larger cities and suburbs, but data deficiencies have limited similar studies in smaller communities. An opportunity to correct this shortcoming for Mississippi occurred in 1980. We present indexes of residential segregation for each community in the state with at least 250 households, and analyze patterns of relation between degree of residential segregation and other characteristics of the communities, including proportion black, total population size, region within the state, and a ratio of black to white income. Results reveal a high degree of segregation across Mississippi, with the magnitude somewhat greater in the Delta and the Piney Woods and somewhat lower on the Gulf Coast. Segregation is particularly sensitive to black‐white income differences; it is greater where the income gap between the races is wider.