Is Texas less segregated by race than other states? (Houston: how much, neighborhood)

[River City Rocky]

I've heard this claim several times and I really don't know if it's true or not because iv never lived outside of Texas. If you have a better point of reference do you agree or disagree?

[MarshaBrady1968]

Texas is less segregated by race than some states I have lived in/ spent a lot of time in, but not others. I think CA is about equal to Texas. Oregon is very segregated, as is Boston area (though I have only seen the Boston area of MA). Louisiana seems to also be as blended as TX

[stan4]

Depends.

In an area like DFW, economic segregation is far more pervasive than say Houston (my theory is that zoning comes into play here).

Because certain minorities tend to have more money and some minorities less, we see more racial segregation as a byproduct.

[Mark Senior]

I only see and know about economic segregation in my area of Texas.

[KathrynAragon]

Texas is one of only a handful of majority-minority states, where white, non Hispanic people make up less than 50 percent of the total population. In East Texas you see a higher percentage of African Americans than in West Texas, where you see a higher percentage of Hispanics, but overall, the state is a mixture of brown skin tones and various cultures - and we're a big state too so that plays a role.

I have lived all over the US and in several foreign countries, due to my military family. Overall, I think that Texas is definitely less segregated and more diverse than many other states. I remember a few years ago my mom went on a trip to Europe and when she came back, she said "Oh, I am so glad to get back to all these brown faces!"

Texas isn't perfect but it's damn good.

[jackalope48]

Generally yes and for a couple reasons.
1. Texas is more diverse than most states
2. Much of Texas' growth and therefore neighborhood creation happened after the fair housing act was passed.
3. Texas gives extra territorial jurisdiction power mainly to the large cities and makes it very difficult to form an independent suburb. As a city gets larger it's etj range actually grows in both miles from it's current city limits it covers and how much it controls vs. a small town who's etj it runs into. What that means is the white flight suburbs weren't as prevalent here because state law made it very hard to create one of any functional size. The large suburbs we do have mostly existed long before the 1960's as small farm towns. Only really North Dallas had a tight enough grouping of them to avoid a large city etj from enveloping them. Think Bellaire and University Place in Houston for what happened most other places and those two were the rare exception that didn't eventually get annexed into the city itself. There has been some talk among Republican legislators and some of the governors staff to strip large cities of these powers and make our system more like Georgia but it hasn't happened yet.
4. Most school districts were created over wide rural areas and it requires a majority vote of an entire school district area to split one up making it nearly impossible to create a new one tightly around a wealthy white area. Since school integration was the major push of white flight this fact really impeded it most places.
5. Unlike the North, Northwest and Midwest the South and Southwest have substantial non-white rural populations which coupled with 3. and 4. made it fairly pointless in most places.

That being said there is still plenty of de facto segregation based on socio economics. In recent times the upper middle class areas in most of the large and mid sized cities have integrated a lot because the education system now actually serves everyone. Austin and the small towns and cities in East Texas are actually the worst now.

[Kthnry]

When I lived there (1980 - 2000), Austin was more segregated than anywhere else I’ve ever lived. San Antonio, on the other hand, is one of the least segregated places I’ve ever lived.

[Mr. Clutch]

Originally Posted by Kthnry

When I lived there (1980 - 2000), Austin was more segregated than anywhere else I’ve ever lived. San Antonio, on the other hand, is one of the least segregated places I’ve ever lived.

Austin was extremely segregated when I was there and I doubt much has changed. Houston and Dallas are far less so, particularly Houston.

[As Above So Below...]

Originally Posted by Mr. Clutch

Austin was extremely segregated when I was there and I doubt much has changed. Houston and Dallas are far less so, particularly Houston.

What he said x1000.

Frankly, if you’re a non-Hispanic minority coming to Texas, Houston and DFW should be the only places under consideration. They are the reasons for Texas being one of the most integrated states.

[River City Rocky]

Originally Posted by As Above So Below...

What he said x1000.

Frankly, if you’re a non-Hispanic minority coming to Texas, Houston and DFW should be the only places under consideration. They are the reasons for Texas being one of the most integrated states.

San Antonio doesn't seem too bad either at least from what I see.

Of course there's just less of other cultures though.