Disaggregating Trends in Racial Residential Segregation: Metropolitan, Micropolitan, and Noncore Counties Compared

Most previous research has focused on changing patterns of segregation in metropolitan urbanized areas or central cities. In this paper, we examine sources of change in residential segregation between and within places in U.S. metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, including its micropolitan and noncore counties. In 2003, OMB first disaggregated nonmetro counties into micropolitan and noncore counties. Micropolitan areas include counties with an urban cluster of at least 10,000 persons or more becomes the central county of a micro area. Outlying counties are included if they meet certain commuting criteria to the central county. To date, we are unaware of studies that have documented trends in racial segregation in micropolitan and noncore areas outside of America’s metropolitan cities.