New Detroit Study: Economic segregation across racial lines is real in the metro region

A report released by New Detroit, a non-profit formed by business and political leaders in the aftermath of the 1967 riots to help bridge the racial divide in the Detroit metropolitan region, showed there are significant racial gaps in education and income, with Latinos and African-Americans lagging behind whites and Asian-Americans. The data is based on 2007 to 2011 U.S. Census figures. You can access the full report here.

In the city of Detroit, 56% of Latino adults don’t have a high school degree, the highest percentage among racial and ethnic groups in the tri-county region. In contrast, 76% of Asian-American adults in Oakland County have a college degree, the highest rate in the region.

There’s also an income gap across racial lines. In Oakland County, 25% of Asian-Americans make more than $150,000 a year, the highest among all groups in the region. An additional 22% of Asian-Americans in the county make between $100,00 to $150,000. Whites in Oakland County were the second wealthiest group in the region, with 16% of them making more than $150,000.

In contrast, 44% of African-Americans in the city of Detroit make less than $25,000, the highest percentage among racial groups in Wayne, Macomb, and Oakland counties. About 40% of Native Americans and 32% of Latinos in Wayne County make less than $25,000.

The report also showed that while Detroit’s population is 84% black, 56% of people who work in the city are white while 39% are African-American. The data shows that many African-Americans in the city of Detroit are commuting to the suburbs for their jobs.