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I wouldn't call them "meccas" but they are good cities for Blacks for sure. I wouldn't call Hampton Roads poor/working class; military cities provide a good bit of stability for Blacks. And Charlotte isn't "the next Atlanta" in terms of being a huge magnet for Blacks, although it does well on that front.
I live in Hampton Roads. It depends on where you fit in. I wasn't saying that intellectually that's my personal experience. But I found that each city, regardless of the locals perception, has opportunity if you're in a position to take advantage of it. Its ironic because people will live in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake but work in Norfolk and Portsmouth. I didn't mean that to say it was Detroit, or Dayton, OH.
I had a resource that showed where people migrated mainly during the Great Migration, unfortunately I cannot find it. However, the study showed that people leaving Georgia during that period headed most often to Chicago, Detroit, and NYC. My grandparents generation on my mom's side basically all moved to NYC in the 20s and 30s for example. This is one of the aspects that kicked off the Second Great Migration back to Georgia: most of the people migrating here have roots here.
As for DC, I'm sure there were folks that went there from Georgia, it was always a bigger drawer from the Carolinas and Virginia itself. You must keep in mind that DC had Jim Crow too. Those folks were trying to get away from that.
I think we're talking about two different periods in the twentieth century. You're referring to before the war, which I was already corrected to about cities like Boston and Philadelphia. I'm talking about during and after WWII. Good point about Jim Crow. DC also has a rather interesting voting situation. Perhaps someone from DC could better explain it. I'm not sure how that affects Blacks there but it is interesting.
Black Median Household Income (benchmarked against Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX MSA)
Washington - $42,369
Houston - $41,414
Atlanta - $41,185 Dallas - $40,864
New York - $32,634
Miami - 30,954
Detroit - $30,870
Philadelphia - $28,824
Chicago - $28,798
Boston - $28,172
Los Angeles - $27,926
San Francisco - $23,740
Once you strip away the COL differential, there really isn't much difference among the Top 4. There's a significant drop off between these four and the NYC metro. As you can see, a high salary in the Bay Area does not mean you are necessarily any better off than someone with a nominally smaller salary in Dallas. A Black person in the Bay Area needs to make $76,124 to have an equivalent standard of living as the median Black person in Dallas.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by goofy328
I think we're talking about two different periods in the twentieth century. You're referring to before the war, which I was already corrected to about cities like Boston and Philadelphia. I'm talking about during and after WWII. Good point about Jim Crow. DC also has a rather interesting voting situation. Perhaps someone from DC could better explain it. I'm not sure how that affects Blacks there but it is interesting.
Oh, yes, I was speaking about the time period before World War II. After World War II, I really doubt there were many Black folks moving out of Georgia to DC or anywhere else for that matter. The engine was in full swing by that time.
Black Median Household Income (benchmarked against Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX MSA)
Washington - $42,369
Houston - $41,414
Atlanta - $41,185 Dallas - $40,864
New York - $32,634
Miami - 30,954
Detroit - $30,870
Philadelphia - $28,824
Chicago - $28,798
Boston - $28,172
Los Angeles - $27,926
San Francisco - $23,740
Once you strip away the COL differential, there really isn't much difference among the Top 4. There's a significant drop off between these four and the NYC metro. As you can see, a high salary in the Bay Area does not mean you are necessarily any better off than someone with a nominally smaller salary in Dallas. A Black person in the Bay Area needs to make $76,124 to have an equivalent standard of living as the median Black person in Dallas.
Is this individual income, as the figures seem to be low?
Oh, yes, I was speaking about the time period before World War II. After World War II, I really doubt there were many Black folks moving out of Georgia to DC or anywhere else for that matter. The engine was in full swing by that time.
Really? I think you had Black people from rural areas of Georgia still moving North after WW2. That is when many Midwestern and Northeastern cities saw their Black populations grow.
Is this individual income, as the figures seem to be low?
No. They are median household incomes. You have to keep in mind that these have been adjusted for cost of living disparities. The median Black household income in the NYC metro area is $44,976 compared to $42,974 in Metro Atlanta. In nominal terms, the Black household in NYC is earning more, but it earns considerably less when accounting for the COL difference. $42K in Atlanta obviously goes much farther than $44K does in the Tri-State.
The median Black HHI in the San Francisco MSA is $44,288 but that small nominal advantage over other metros is completely wiped out by the exorbitant cost of living. DC has a much higher COL than southern metros but the earnings there are sufficient to compensate for it.
Black Median Household Income (benchmarked against Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX MSA)
Washington - $42,369
Houston - $41,414
Atlanta - $41,185 Dallas - $40,864
New York - $32,634
Miami - 30,954
Detroit - $30,870
Philadelphia - $28,824
Chicago - $28,798
Boston - $28,172
Los Angeles - $27,926
San Francisco - $23,740
Once you strip away the COL differential, there really isn't much difference among the Top 4. There's a significant drop off between these four and the NYC metro. As you can see, a high salary in the Bay Area does not mean you are necessarily any better off than someone with a nominally smaller salary in Dallas. A Black person in the Bay Area needs to make $76,124 to have an equivalent standard of living as the median Black person in Dallas.
Its how Blacks are getting priced out of areas. Its even happening where I live in Virginia. And the Midwest, which is supposed to be cheaper, pays even less. So you're still struggling.
I mean a person could move to a city like Pittsburgh or Youngstown but only if that job pays well. I was in the Midwest without a job, on and off, in the early 2000s and late 90s I'll never do that again. All of the good jobs require a degree. And even then the jobs aren't paying like they used to. There are some exceptions, like Dayton, OH has Wright Patterson Air Force Base but the military presence is not on the same level it is in Hampton Roads, Florida, San Diego etc. Not as many ports, etc. What good is an $80,000 house if you don't have the financing and you're making like $8 an hour? Plus its in a bad neighborhood.
Most big salaries in high cost metros aren't that impressive after the COL adjustment. The median HHI for non-Hispanic Whites in the Bay Area is just over $100K, which translates to a $53K salary in Dallas. Is the average person in SF truly any better off?
The real benefits in living in of these high COL inure to the Top 10% of income earners. There aren't too many metros with industries that dish out $250,000+ bonuses on top of base, but if you're in one of those industries, the high COL of NYC or SF won't bother you much at all.
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