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Title: Race, Socioeconomic Status, and the First Public Housing Residents of the United States

Citation Type: Conference Paper

Publication Year: 2019

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Abstract: We use a new dataset on 29,416 households residing in public housing as of the 1940 Census to analyze demographic and socioeconomic variation between African American- and white-headed households at the national and regional level of the US. Nationally, African American-headed households had a lower median income and a higher proportion of employed heads than white-headed households. Educational attainment was mixed, with a higher proportion of African American householders having less than an 8th grade and more than a high school education than white householders. Regional patterns of employment and educational attainment mirror national patterns. Median income for African American-headed households, however, was higher in the Northeast and lower in the Midwest and South than white-headed households. These results suggest that African Americans had to meet a higher bar, especially with respect to employment and, to a lesser degree, educational attainment, than whites to be selected for public housing.

Url: http://paa2019.populationassociation.org/uploads/193005

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Authors: Van Riper, David; Allen, Ryan; Dallman, Scott; Mondal, Angira

Conference Name: PAA 2019

Publisher Location: Austin, TX

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Housing and Segregation, Race and Ethnicity

Countries: United States