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Illinois Residential Segregation Data

Segregation statistics for downstate Illinois metro areas.

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This data is part of a series on segregation in Illinois that resulted from a six-month Governing investigation.

To assess current levels of residential segregation, Governing analyzed the latest 2017 five-year American Community Survey estimates from the Census Bureau. Our primary measure is what's known as the index of dissimilarity, with higher values (on a scale of 0 to 1) representing higher levels of segregation between blacks and whites. We compute these at the metro area-level, rather than for cities, to account for segregation taking place over longer distances. (Read the full report methodology.)
Our results showed particularly high levels of segregation for Peoria, which also ranked sixth highest of any metro area nationally with a black population of at least 10,000. The Danville metro area wasn't far behind. Kankakee, Rockford and Springfield are all also among the top third most segregated areas for black and whites.
 
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Changes in Segregation Over Time

Historical Census data were compiled to calculated dissimilarity indices showing changes over time. Nationally, levels of segregation have declined over the long term. That's the case for most parts of Illinois. However, black-white segregation remains about where it was in 1980 for the Champaign-Urbana, Danville and Peoria metro areas. 


Research from Brown University offers the following guidelines in interpreting changes in values over one decade:


  • Change of 0.1 and greater: "Very significant change"
  • Change of 0.05-.1: "Moderate change"
  • Less than 0.05: "Small change or no real change at all"
See methodology for how values were computed. 

Metro Area Comparisons


Governing further compared downstate Illinois metro areas with other metros of similar sizes and demographics. The largest metro areas -- Peoria, Rockford and Springfield -- all recorded significantly higher dissimilarity indices than comparable regions in other parts of the country. Danville also had the highest level of segregation in its group. Segregation wasn't as elevated in the college towns of Bloomington and Champaign-Urbana.

For each area of interest, metro areas were considered demographically similar if they met the following criteria:

  1. Total population +/- 30 percent of area
  2. Black share of the population +/- 30 percentage points of area
In general, other areas of the industrial Midwest and northeastern U.S. similarly tend to have higher levels of black-white segregation. (See national results for segregation for all metro areas.) 

Bloomington-Normal Metro Area



Metro AreaDissimilarity IndexWhite PopulationBlack PopulationTotal Population
Springfield, OH0.617114,41910,984135,520
Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA0.605144,82912,074170,055
Mansfield, OH0.595104,2849,372121,533
Jackson, MI0.595135,10813,066158,989
Midland, TX0.56178,6079,410165,430
Carbondale-Marion, IL0.529115,75712,671139,491
Sebastian-Vero Beach, FL0.526112,34713,103147,981
Wichita Falls, TX0.479104,29913,148150,940
Bowling Green, KY0.477141,89112,055169,250
Elizabethtown-Fort Knox, KY0.466120,53113,599150,253
Jefferson City, MO0.464130,46811,456151,056
Beckley, WV0.459108,2988,295121,699
Manhattan, KS0.44899,53010,888134,680
Gainesville, GA0.442118,72214,050192,865
Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL0.424168,95119,238203,360
Abilene, TX0.420110,16813,111169,000
Hanford-Corcoran, CA0.39749,7288,916150,183
Bloomington-Normal, IL0.387138,25613,850173,231
Columbia, MO0.375163,49816,505202,353

Champaign-Urbana Metro Area



Metro AreaDissimilarity IndexWhite PopulationBlack PopulationTotal Population
Muskegon, MI0.719132,18023,239172,707
Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ0.606153,89938,978272,926
Springfield, IL0.571171,91625,010210,550
Racine, WI0.529141,84920,797195,101
Waco, TX0.509148,35539,061263,009
Kalamazoo-Portage, MI0.497202,78027,499259,830
Champaign-Urbana, IL0.492157,34027,110224,379
Panama City, FL0.471139,20819,358180,117
Wilmington, NC0.467212,00839,741277,496
Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL0.424168,95119,238203,360
College Station-Bryan, TX0.411142,68227,287248,554
Charlottesville, VA0.353160,35725,233211,777
Jacksonville, NC0.333128,72426,342192,685
East Stroudsburg, PA0.329113,04821,807167,306

Danville Metro Area


Metro AreaDissimilarity IndexWhite PopulationBlack PopulationTotal Population
Danville, IL0.67562,38310,99579,207
Pine Bluff, AR0.59044,27645,42793,590
Cape Girardeau, MO-IL0.57483,5328,53897,136
Sebring-Avon Park, FL0.49768,5059,268100,177
Hot Springs, AR0.48680,9277,95297,994
Rome, GA0.47868,87213,93896,471
Kokomo, IN0.42570,7375,79182,457
Hinesville, GA0.27135,46029,13279,977

Kankakee and Decatur Metro Areas



Metro AreaDissimilarity IndexWhite PopulationBlack PopulationTotal Population
Danville, IL0.67562,38310,99579,207
Gadsden, AL0.63880,75015,847103,132
Michigan City-La Porte, IN0.60588,53812,093110,839
Battle Creek, MI0.598105,14214,191134,327
Kankakee, IL0.57679,96116,681110,801
Decatur, IL0.52882,51414,906107,587
Lima, OH0.52284,61812,231104,157
Rome, GA0.47868,87213,93896,471
Jonesboro, AR0.449101,68615,261128,344
California-Lexington Park, MD0.39083,34015,760110,979
Lawton, OK0.31774,51420,185129,066

Peoria Metro Area


Metro AreaDissimilarity IndexWhite PopulationBlack PopulationTotal Population
Peoria, IL0.724344,64335,675412,991
Fort Wayne, IN0.599306,40241,552401,228
Rockford, IL0.571241,64636,630341,150
Naples-Marco Island, FL0.568227,00224,395356,774
Canton-Massillon, OH0.536351,62926,756402,098
Evansville, IN-KY0.514274,95521,191315,263
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL0.510304,72728,526383,141
Lexington-Fayette, KY0.492389,72454,008500,689
Lubbock, TX0.478167,66020,760309,722
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC0.418296,32323,764364,044

Rockford Metro Area




Metro AreaDissimilarity IndexWhite PopulationBlack PopulationTotal Population
Peoria, IL0.724344,64335,675412,991
Fort Wayne, IN0.599306,40241,552401,228
Rockford, IL0.571241,64636,630341,150
Ann Arbor, MI0.555255,34742,415361,509
Roanoke, VA0.536246,93440,586313,069
South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI0.531242,02536,829320,010
Kalamazoo-Portage, MI0.497202,78027,499259,830
Ocala, FL0.473245,04542,355343,778
Vallejo, CA0.438169,43659,862434,981
Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC-NC0.420339,27354,776432,772
Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV0.412231,34223,084278,666
College Station-Bryan, TX0.411142,68227,287248,554
Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL0.374200,73421,850261,048

Springfield Metro Area




Metro AreaDissimilarity IndexWhite PopulationBlack PopulationTotal Population
Muskegon, MI0.719132,18023,239172,707
Niles, MI0.718116,41622,567154,948
Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ0.606153,89938,978272,926
Springfield, IL0.571171,91625,010210,550
Decatur, AL0.570116,49818,493152,445
Racine, WI0.529141,84920,797195,101
Sebastian-Vero Beach, FL0.526112,34713,103147,981
Waco, TX0.509148,35539,061263,009
Kalamazoo-Portage, MI0.497202,78027,499259,830
Champaign-Urbana, IL0.492157,34027,110224,379
Wichita Falls, TX0.479104,29913,148150,940
Panama City, FL0.471139,20819,358180,117
Elizabethtown-Fort Knox, KY0.466120,53113,599150,253
Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL0.424168,95119,238203,360
College Station-Bryan, TX0.411142,68227,287248,554
Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL0.374200,73421,850261,048
Charlottesville, VA0.353160,35725,233211,777
Jacksonville, NC0.333128,72426,342192,685
East Stroudsburg, PA0.329113,04821,807167,306
Mike Maciag is Data Editor for GOVERNING.
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