How Income Segregation Distorts Perceptions of Racial Inequality

• In Event: The Subjective Perception of Inequality, Status, and Insecurity

Abstract

The median Black household earns only 63% of what the median White household earns. However, many White Americans express doubt that racial inequality exists at all. In this paper, I argue that income segregation may help explain this puzzle. First, I demonstrate that, due to income segregation, racial income inequality is usually much lower within communities than nationwide. While the Black-White median household income ratio is 0.63 nationwide, it is only 0.86 within the median census tract. I next show that this appears to skew White Americans’ perceptions of racial inequality: in communities where White and Black Americans' incomes are more equal, whites have greater misperceptions about national racial income inequality. Furthermore, White Americans in these areas have especially conservative racial and political attitudes. These findings indicate a novel explanation to the puzzle of why White Americans underestimate racial inequality, and may help explain their opposition to policies and politicians that aim to reduce it.

Author

• Matthew Brundage, University of California, Berkeley