Minority concentration, disadvantage, and inequality in the nonmetropolitan United States

The implications of the residential concentration of minority populations are issues of vital concern in the United States. Much of the previous minority concentration literature has focused on African-American residents of metropolitan communities. This article expands on this literature by exploring a variety of minority groups in nonmetropolitan communities. It was found that the minority residents of communities with large minority populations were in worse socioeconomic conditions than the minority residents of predominately white communities. Further, for most socioeconomic variables, it was found that as minority concentration increased, white residents tended to do better. In addition, the extent of racial inequality between minority and white residents was greater in communities with larger minority populations. Implications of the above findings are discussed.