Segregation not only hurts African-American and Latino populations stuck in segregated areas throughout the United States, but it negatively affects all regions as a whole, says a new study “The Cost of Segregation: National Trends and the Case of Chicago, 1990 to 2010” by the Urban Institute.

The study investigates the ways that economic and racial segregation are related to regional social and economic outcomes and analyzes the 100 most-populous commuting zones from 1990 to 2010 and consider outcomes related to income, educational attainment, life expectancy, and homicide rate. They found that higher levels of economic segregation are associated with lower incomes, particularly for black residents. Further, higher levels of racial segregation are associated with lower incomes for blacks, lower educational attainment for whites and blacks, and lower levels of safety for all area residents.

It found that between 1990 and 2000, economic segregation decreased in 92 metropolitan areas. In 2000, however, the trend began to reverse and from 2000 to 2010, economic segregation increased in 72 areas as high-poverty and high-affluence neighborhoods began to outnumber mixed-class, middle-income neighborhoods. Despite efforts to integrate schools and neighborhoods, the report concludes that the United States remains “starkly segregated” by race and income. That leads to worse regional outcomes on the whole, the report says, though trends vary across the country.

The segregation did not rise accidentally. It was created by decades of racially discriminatory policies and violence, and some of those policies persist. As a result, generations of people of color are stuck in neighborhoods without opportunity. The authors write:

In part, market processes create inequity. The wealth of people in the highest echelons does not necessarily benefit working-class people during periods of economic expansion. Furthermore, government policies tend to benefit people with wealth, such as homeowners who receive federal tax benefits. Even income-based policies to increase investment in cities and neighborhoods have not reduced concentrated poverty in minority neighborhoods. Finally, places with majority-white, affluent populations tend to remain segregated because of exclusionary policies that hinder economic mobility options, such as caps on multifamily rental housing. Enduring patterns of segregation make fostering a more inclusive metropolis difficult.

The report found that the Chicago area likely would suffer far fewer murders, graduate many more young people from college and produce billions more in gross product if it were more integrated—racially and ethnically, as well as economically. This holds true for the 100 most populous commuting zones the study analyzed. In Chicago without segregation:
◆ Per capita income for African Americans in the Chicago commuting zone (which broadly corresponds to the metro) would increase by 12.4 percent—that’s $2,455 more in each black Chicagoan’s pocket per year.
◆ For both black and white residents, educational attainment would rise. Around 83,000 more adults would graduate from college, of which 78 percent would be white.
◆ The homicide rate would fall by 30 percent compared to its 2010 level. That means in 2016, Chicago would have experienced 229 fewer homicides.

Like Milwaukee, Chicago is a hyper-segregated city. If the city were able to decrease segregation to median levels, the report found that could translate to incomes for African Americans rising an average of $2,982, with the region as a whole earning $4.4 billion more in income.

In the end, the report finds that segregation is the most detrimental to the African American populations and the report’s authors argue reducing racial and economic segregation to the median level could increase black per capita income and educational attainment and lower the homicide rate.

“If actors at the city, county and state levels could break down barriers to local inclusion, entire regions could benefit from higher incomes and education levels and fewer homicides,” the authors write.