03/03/2012

Homeowners Self-Segregate by Race and Education LiveScience

Search

Home Space Animals Health Environment Technology Culture History Video Strange News Images Topics Article:

Homeowners Self-Segregate b Race and Education

Andrea Thompson FOLLOW US Like 164k Date: 07 September 2007 Time: 04:05 AM ET People are willing to dish out more dough to live in neighborhoods with others of the same race and education level, a new study finds.
HA E
Like

0 Using 1990 U.S. Census data, researchers examined a quarter of a million households in the San Francisco Bay Area to look for statistical trends in where people preferred to live and found that they tend to self-segregate based on how these demographic factors apply to their choice of schools and neighbors.

College-educated people apparently were willing to pay $58 more per month on average for their property than those without a college education to live in a neighborhood where they would have more college-educated neighbors, according to the researchers' model of people's neighborhood choices. That might not surprise you. This might: People without college educations would want compensation to live in a neighborhood with more college-educated neighbors, the study showed. The model, detailed in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Political Econom , held moreso for homeowners than renters. Blacks were willing to pay $98 more per month to live in a neighborhood with more black households, while whites were willing to pay more to have fewer black neighbors. And perhaps unsurprisingly, all households preferred to live in higher-income neighborhoods. Those with higher income, as well as a higher education level, also were willing to pay more to live in a neighborhood served by better schools, a factor that could lead to exclusion eventually of lower-income families from "good" school districts, the researchers stated.
www.livescience.com/1849-homeowners-segregate-race-education.html 1/5

03/03/2012

Homeowners Self-Segregate by Race and Education LiveScience

"Our estimates suggest that the improvement in a school's quality would disproportionately attract more highly educated households to the neighborhood, in turn making the neighborhood even more attractive to higherincome, highly educated households, and raising prices further," Patrick Bayer of Duke University and his coauthors said in a prepared statement. The researchers looked at households on either side of a school zone boundary, with one school performing better than the other. They found that households with higher incomes and a higher level of education were found on the side of the higher-ranked school; housing prices were also higher on that side by an average of $18,000. Quiz: The State of the United States Urban Legends Debunked Life's Little Mysteries
HA E
0 Like

MORE FROM LiveScience.com

Image Albums

Countdowns

Topics

Infographics MORE ARTICLES

www.livescience.com/1849-homeowners-segregate-race-education.html

2/5

03/03/2012

Homeowners Self-Segregate by Race and Education LiveScience

MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

www.livescience.com/1849-homeowners-segregate-race-education.html 3/5

03/03/2012

Homeowners Self-Segregate by Race and Education LiveScience

Shrinking Sky! Cloud Tops Dropping Closer to Earth, NASA Satellite Fin...

51,126 views
Happiest States of 2011: The List

49,172 views
Incompetent People Too Ignorant to Know It

47,874 views
'Little Horny M an': Rock Carving of Giant Phallus Discovered

33,097 views
Found: Ancient Warrior's Helmet, Owner Unknown

28,518 views

FACEBOOK ACTIVITY

Sign Up

Create an account or log in to see w hat our friends are doing.

People Aren't Sm art Enough for Dem ocrac to Flourish, Scientists Sa 1,800 people recommend this. Incom petent People Too Ignorant to Know It 1,296 people recommend this. Happiest States of 2011: The List 912 people recommend this. Free e-Dried Pets Com fort Grieving Ow ners 296 people recommend this.
Facebook social plugin

TWITTER ACTIVITY

LiveScience

Li eScience
LiveScience New Breed of Strawberry Is Deep Purple bit.ly/zvESNs
4 hours ago reply retw eet fav orite

LiveScience Why It Took So Long to Invent the Wheel bit.ly/y3APpl

4 hours ago reply retw eet fav orite

LiveScience Why So Many Tornadoes Are Striking the US bit.ly/wbtMZm

4 hours ago reply retw eet fav orite

Join the conversation

www.livescience.com/1849-homeowners-segregate-race-education.html

4/5

03/03/2012

Homeowners Self-Segregate by Race and Education LiveScience

Company Pages Company Info About the Site Contact Us Advertise with Us Using our Content Licensing & Reprints Privacy Policy Sitemap TechMediaNetwork Brands TechMediaNetwork iPadNewsDaily TopTenREVIEWS BusinessNewsDaily LAPTOP MyHealthNewsDaily SPACE.com SecurityNewsDaily LiveScience InnovationNewsDaily TechNewsDaily IT TechNewsDaily Newsarama Herman Street Life's Little Mysteries North Orion OurAmazingPlanet Join our community
Enter our email address
FOLLOW US ON...

Copyright 2012 TechMediaNetwork.com All rights reserved.

www.livescience.com/1849-homeowners-segregate-race-education.html

5/5