National Origin Differences in Residential Segregation of Asian Americans: Trends from 1970 to 2010

Weiwei Zhang, Brown University

The study examines national origin differences in residential segregation of six major Asian groups in the United State over the period 1970-2010. The entropy index is used for measuring segregation between non-Hispanic whites and the chosen Asian groups and the decomposition of entropy is applied for the assessment of geographic scales. The findings show that the between-Asian-group segregation as a component of the multigroup segregation is declining, yet still constitutes about one third of the total segregation. For Filipinos and Japanese, disproportionate distributions across large regions contribute significantly to the group's overall segregation.