Which Northeast city would be best for a black middle class family? (live, state)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm glad you said this, as I was trying to see if there were some others not mentioned that at least have a "decent/substantial/good sized" black population. To not be ironic/hypocritical on my end, some of those and perhaps lesser mentioned areas I can think of are, the northern portion of the Strathmore neighborhood: https://www.google.com/maps/@43.0303...8192?entry=ttu
Another lesser mentioned area is the Linwood Historic district, which is a middle class area that has/has had predominantly black blocks as of the 2010 census. It is in between the Elmwood Village(a popular neighborhood with nightlife/restaurants) and Hamlin Park(has a historic black middle class presence)/Cold Spring neighborhoods, as well as right next to Main Street.
Sodus is a small town in between Syracuse and Rochester that is about 10% black(about 15-20% in the village) and one of the owners is from Lyons, which is an adjacent town that is also about 10% black. It would be a good choice for those looking to go to wineries, del Lago Casino, the outlet mall, check out historical sites(Harriet Tubman Home in Auburn, Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca falls, etc.) and some of the quaint communities in the area as well.
Do you mind doing Wilmington and it's suburbs, because we need some DE representation now lol. You also do a great job at compiling data. I'll do some myself later when I can use my laptop at home. I know Claymont is a decent black middle class area for families having known 2 people relocate there from Philadelphia and Jersey.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ckhthankgod
Just to throw a Wilmington area community out there, but New Castle a small city outside of Wilmington has a black MHHI of $69,722, a black poverty rate of 6.3%, a black educational attainment of 25.4% and it is 26.4% black non Hispanic(28.3% inc. black Hispanics and 30.5% inc. those in combo).
Another one is Bear, an area CDP, has a black MHHI of $77,500, a black poverty rate of 8.2%, a black educational attainment of 35.1% and it is 37% black non Hispanic(38.2% inc. black Hispanics and 40.6% inc. those in combo).
Middletown, another New Castle County community, has a black MHHI of $85,328, a black poverty rate of 7.9%, a black educational attainment of 31.5% and it is 26.4% black non Hispanic(27.2% inc. black Hispanics and 29.7% inc. those in combo).
Glasgow, just west of Bear, has a black MHHI of $79, 286, a black poverty rate of 7.3%, a black educational attainment of 36.6% and it is 23.8% black non Hispanic(24.4% inc. black Hispanics and 26.1% inc. those in combo).
New Castle is served primarily by the Colonial SD and partially by the Christina SD. Bear is served by the Appoquinimink, Colonial and Christina SD's. Middletown is served by the Appoquinimink and Colonial SD's. Glasgow is served by the Christina SD primarily, as well as the Appoquinimink SD.
Do you mind doing Wilmington and it's suburbs, because we need some DE representation now lol. You also do a great job at compiling data. I'll do some myself later when I can use my laptop at home. I know Claymont is a decent black middle class area for families having known 2 people relocate there from Philadelphia and Jersey.
An interesting feature about New Castle County (Wilmington, Delaware's largest city, is its county seat; it's also the most populous of Delaware's three counties):
IDK whether this was connected to Delaware's school desegregation cases or was an effort to reduce school administration costs, but most of northern New Castle County was combined into a single school district in 1978. That district was split into four districts three years later, and the city of Wilmington itself was split among all four. The most affluent parts of the city, near its northern border, were split between the Brandywine (Wilmington's most affluent suburbs, in the Brandywine Creek/River valley) and Red Clay (Wilmington's western suburbs) districts; the eastern part of the city, including its Delaware River port, is in the Colonial district along with most of its southern suburbs; and the central part of the city is an island separated from the rest of the Christina district, which centers on Newark, home of the University of Delaware.
Actually, this document (PDF) includes a timeline of school desegregation in Delaware that includes the order to form a single district in northern New Castle and the breaking up of that district.
Claymont sits in the Brandywine district. It also has regional rail service to Philadelphia, Wilmington and Newark via SEPTA's Wilmington/Newark Regional Rail line. The Delaware Department of Transportation contracts with SEPTA to operate regional rail service across northern New Castle County, which I believe makes Wilmington the smallest city in the United States with commuter rail service to its downtown. (The state also owns a four-car SEPTA trainset as part of the deal; it operates interchangeably with all the other RRD trains throughout the SEPTA regional system.)
1. It's consider one of the best msa if not the best for Black families in this country. If I were to include DC in this discussion than it would be a "no-brainer".
2. It's region always causes a debate. It's Mid-Atlantic/It's East coast/ North city with southern roots/ technically in the south. I decided to stick with cities that are without question a Northeast city.
This is exactly why I made this thread. I'm really curious as to what cities would work for middle class Black families in the North. When you factor in COL and urbanity Philly would seem like the no-brainer. I mean the cost of living between Philadelphia and some popular sunbelt southern cities black people are flocking to is getting smaller and smaller. Yet I rarely hear Philly as a spot for Black families to move to even with it's legacy and Black culture.
NYC looks to be on the decline mainly due to affordability I guess but I do know of a good amount of black middle class enclaves or diverse enough communities that are attractive for BMC throughout NYC MSA.
Boston despite being expensive seems to do a lot of things right as far as QOL for Black middle class families. And it has a growing Black population at that. But again I'm not that familiar with these cities from the Black middle class family perspective.
After reading this again, there is something that hasn't been mentioned that has to be considered in terms of the second part of this post. That is that cities in the Northeast aren't able to annex unincorporated communities/land like in the South due to everything being incorporated in the Northeast as either cities/towns/villages(still under the town in NY) and boroughs. Meaning, when a family may move to a city in the South, they may move to an outer city neighborhood that in the Northeast would be a first or second ring suburb due to the smaller land area of cities in the region.
For instance, Houston is 640 square miles in terms of land area. NYC isn't even half that in land area at 303 square miles(smaller than Dallas). Philadelphia is 134 square miles(only 3 square miles bigger than Atlanta and 12 square miles smaller than Raleigh), Boston is 48.4 square miles(almost 12 square miles less than Richmond), Newark is just under 26 square miles(almost 3 square miles smaller than Greenville SC), Jersey City is just under 15 square miles, Providence is 18.5 square miles, Harrisburg is 8 square miles and Wilmington is 11 square miles. So, all of the cities on the list can fit into Houston and then some.
Just to add, Pittsburgh is 55.6 square miles, Allentown is 17.8 square miles, Buffalo is 40.4 square miles, Rochester is 35.8 sq. mi., Syracuse is 25.3 sq. mi., Albany is 21.4 sq. mi., Hartford is 17.3 sq. mi., New Haven is 18.7 sq. mi., Bridgeport is 16 sq. mi., Springfield is 31.9 sq. mi. and Worcester is 37.6 sq. mi. If combined, they are only slightly under 3 square miles bigger than Memphis, yet some of the metro populations for some of these cities are bigger or similar to that of Memphis.
This means that moving to the suburbs in these areas will have a generally different feel or meaning than in the South, due to cities being more dense and smaller in land area. This means living in the suburbs in the Northeast doesn't necessarily mean being far away from "the action" or core, as the cities themselves are relatively small. This can also be considered for outer city neighborhoods as well.
Nearly a decade ago, a group of Black professionals, entrepreneurs, and allies formed the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts, a collaborative effort to close the yawning racial wealth gap in Massachusetts. The work was in large part spurred by a startling Federal Reserve Bank of Boston report in 2015 that found the median net worth of an African American family in Boston was a mere $8.
Now, the council is set to host its fifth consecutive convention, the Mass. Black Expo, bringing together hundreds of business leaders and policymakers for a common agenda of “Building Black Wealth in the Commonwealth.â€
...
This year’s scheduled speakers include Mayor Michelle Wu, Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, Representative Ayanna Pressley, Governor Maura Healey, Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll, national race scholar Andre M. Perry, and Earn Your Leisure media platform cofounders Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings.
The event closes on Sunday with “A Celebration of Black Joy†event at Grace by Nia in the Seaport, a BECMA booth at the Seaport x Black-Owned Bos. fall festival, and a “Family Fun Fest†at the Springfield Boys & Girls Club.
Brandale Randolph, founder and owner of the Framingham-based 1854 Cycling Company, presented his company’s e-bikes at last year’s event. He plans to speak on a panel and showcase more products at this year’s expo, saying it offers clear opportunities to close the region’s racial wealth gap.
Randolph reflected on what it is like to see big-name Black brands and smaller Black startups in one large space, thinking creatively about ways to generate jobs — not just for Black people, but everyone in Massachusetts. Having so many recruiters in the room, he said, can show the community that they can generate income without leaving the state.
â€A lot of people have to leave Boston in order to close their own personal wealth gap,†Randolph said. “The more opportunities we show people that they can build, raise, and support a family here in Boston, the greater that gap will change.â€
This is interesting as things will vary. In terms of safety, it is usually Albany and/or Syracuse have lower crime rates than Buffalo and Rochester.
Affordability goes Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester(the middle two are close, but I think Syracuse is a little more affordable) and Albany.
Black presence is between Buffalo and Rochester, as both are about 40% black, give or take. Buffalo at one time in the past was actually known for being a good city to migrate to for black people decades ago. Syracuse and Albany are close, as both are about a third black and have black populations that continue to grow in the city limits and metro. Syracuse is a bigger city proper, but makes the Albany are interesting is that it is a little bit bigger than the Syracuse metro and it also has cities such as Schenectady(about 25% black) and Troy(about 20% black) that are smaller cities centers in the area. Hence, the official name of the Albany metro area being the Albany-Schenectady-Troy metro area.
Buffalo and Rochester are known for their festivals. For instance, Buffalo has had a Juneteenth Festival going back to 1976 that has been quite popular for a long time. Buffalo also has a bunch of other cultural centered festivals like the Pine Grill Reunion, Gospel Fest, etc. Rochester has events like the Summer Soul Fest that was this past weekend, along with the Clarissa Street Reunion(the business district for the historically black 3rd Ward that had many black owned businesses before Urban Renewal). Rochester also just had a Pan African Festival and a Wet Indian festival(the area has a substantial Jamaican population). In Syracuse, we have a long time Juneteenth Festival that goes back to 1988, multiple Jazz related festivals/events and as host of the NYS Fair, has a Pan African Village. Albany hosts a Pinkster Festival(an old African-Dutch celebration from the 1700's-early 1800's that enslaved Africans in the Hudson Valley/local area would celebrate around Pentecost) and some other festivals as well. Schenectady has a long time Juneteenth celebration as well.
Buffalo and Rochester have black owned media including multiple print outlets and radio(locally owned). Syracuse has some media(a local newspaper, an locally owned internet radio station and some other shows). Not completely sure in regards to Albany. on a side note, Utica in between Syracuse and Albany has a black owned radio station as well.
.
As for schools, all of them have their struggles, but also have good charter, magnet/special education programs and private options that families in those cities go with. I believe the four cities, all but something like 4 or 5 out of roughly 35 public or charter high schools aren't predominantly or pluralistically more black in student enrollment. I guess if I were give an order, I'd say Albany, Syracuse and a toss up between Buffalo and Rochester, but any distance is too great.
Private schools such as Bishop Ludden and Bishop Grimes in the Syracuse area; Bishop Kearney and Aquinas Institute in the Rochester area and The Park School of Buffalo are some that are around 20% black.
You also have some suburban school districts between each of these areas that some families go to, but pretty much any suburban district will have some black families to some degree.
In terms of say intangibles, Buffalo and Albany are interesting due to their proximity to major areas such as Toronto and NYC, both of which are around 2 hours away give or take. Boston is also only about a couple of hours away from Albany. Syracuse is more centrally located between these cities, outdoor amenities and it is about 3 and half/4 hours from NYC, Philadelphia, Toronto and Montreal(Boston is about 4 and half hours, give or take and DC is about 5 hours). Rochester has the highest black percentage of the four at roughly 42% and is in between Buffalo and Syracuse.
I may add more that comes to mind later or if you/anyone has any other questions.
In terms of another zip code that is within the bolded city(covers its Delaware Avenue neighborhood/area), 12209 also has a substantial Black population that is generally middle class. In fact, according to 2021 5 year US census information, the Black median household income was higher than that of any group in the zip code, with all groups being middle class: https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST5...me+and+Poverty
In terms of another zip code that is within the bolded city(covers its Delaware Avenue neighborhood/area), 12209 also has a substantial Black population that is generally middle class. In fact, according to 2021 5 year US census information, the Black median household income was higher than that of any group in the zip code, with all groups being middle class: https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST5...me+and+Poverty
I'm glad you said this, as I was trying to see if there were some others not mentioned that at least have a "decent/substantial/good sized" black population. To not be ironic/hypocritical on my end, some of those and perhaps lesser mentioned areas I can think of are, the northern portion of the Strathmore neighborhood: https://www.google.com/maps/@43.0303...8192?entry=ttu
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
