The following statistics were calculated by aggregating 2020 census blocks into Milwaukee neighborhoods. Because of data quality concerns stemming from the Census Bureau’s new differential privacy techniques, I do not present data for neighborhoods with fewer than 400 residents.
The 2020 Census reconfirmed Milwaukee’s status as one of the most segregated cities and metropolitan areas in the United States.
According to Brown University’s Diversity and Disparities Project, metro-wide Black-white segregation declined slightly, but the Milwaukee metro still ranks 2nd-most segregated, just as in 2010. Within city limits, the absolute degree of Black-white segregation measured by Brown University remained unchanged, and segregation between other groups declined only modestly.
These dismal statistics point to how far Milwaukee remains from being a fair place to live for most of its residents. Still, there are neighborhoods in Milwaukee that saw significant positive change over the last decade. Their populations grew more representative of the city as a whole.
One way to measure this is a “diversity index,” which shows the likelihood that two people randomly chosen from the same neighborhood would identify with different races. The diversity index increased in over 2/3 of Milwaukee neighborhoods during the past decade. I calculated that the diversity index exceeds 50% in 83 of Milwaukee’s 164 neighborhoods with at least 400 residents. In 2010, just 49 neighborhoods met this threshold. Over a dozen Milwaukee neighborhoods in 2020 had no racial or ethnic majority group.
Note: neighborhoods with populations below 400 are not shown
Milwaukee’s most diverse neighborhoods tend to be working or lower-middle class and located in one of three clusters on the south, west, and northwest sides.
The south side cluster lies roughly between the airport and Alverno College. It includes:
- Southpoint – 39% Hispanic or Latino, 27% (non-Hispanic) white, 19% Asian, and 11% Black
- Castle Manor – 45% white, 25% Latino, 14% Asian, and 12% Black
- Alverno – 43% white, 34% Latino, 12% Asian, and 6% Black
- Mitchell West – 44% white, 21% Asian, 21% Latino, and 9% Black
The west side cluster is located between Washington Park and the Brewers’ stadium. It includes:
- Martin Drive – 40% Black, 31% white, 11% Asian, 10% Latino
- Miller Valley – 44% Black, 23% white, 16% Latino, and 9% Asian
- Pigsville – 46% white, 20% Black, 19% Latino, and 5% Asian
The northwest side cluster is mostly subdivision-style developments of single-family homes west of the Little Menomonee River, including the neighborhoods of:
- Little Menomonee Parkway – 39% Black, 31% white, 12% Asian, and 11% Latino
- Pheasant Run – 40% Black, 35% white, 12% Asian, and 8% Latino
- Florist Highlands – 46% Black, 32% white, 8% Latino, and 6% Asian
The least diverse neighborhoods, by contrast, are all those on the deeply segregated near north side of the city. At least 9-in-10 residents of Arlington Heights, Borchert Field, Franklin Heights, Garden Homes, Triangle North, and Rufus King are Black. But neighborhoods elsewhere in Milwaukee also make the list of deeply segregated places. The Third Ward, Upper East Side, Fernwood, Downer Woods, and Northpoint, are all among the top-21 least-diverse neighborhoods in the city. More than 8-in-10 residents in these 5 neighborhoods are non-Hispanic white.
Highly-segregated neighborhoods far outnumber the integrated parts of Milwaukee, as the city’s position in national rankings attests. And these hyper-segregated neighborhoods–both Black and white–rightfully loom large in public perceptions of Milwaukee. Still, descriptions of Milwaukee as “a tale of two cities” don’t fully capture this other piece of the city, where people of many races live their lives next door to each other. These aren’t the name-brand neighborhoods along the lake, but they are success stories in their own right.
Comparison of Milwaukee neighborhood demographics, using 2010 and 2020 census data
Is there any indication that the Milwaukee suburbs show any of the “desegregation” that you discuss for the City of Milwaukee? As somebody who was born and raised in the City and continues to reside within the City limits, I have for decades perceived a reasonably diverse City hemmed in on three sides by overwhelmingly white suburbs. When we keep talking about segregation in the City of Milwaukee, we might be obscuring this larger and more disturbing picture. What’s more, given the efforts of suburban zoning boards, elected governments and general populations, the ongoing existence of predominately white suburbs is no fluke.
Hi David,
You’re right about the huge gulf between the city and the suburbs overall, but we are starting to see some big changes in particular suburbs. For the first time ever, the non-Hispanic white population of two suburbs dipped below 50% during the 2010s. Those are West Milwaukee and Brown Deer. From 2010 to 2020, the Black population grew by 2,000 in West Allis, 1,400 in Brown Deer, and 1,200 in Wauwatosa. The Latino population grew by 3,800 in West Allis, 1,800 in Greenfield, and 1,000 in Waukesha. The Asian population followed a different pattern. The biggest increases were 2,500 in Brookfield, 1,300 in Menomonee Falls, and 1,100 in Oak Creek.
Across all suburbs (the WOW counties plus Milwaukee county suburbs), the non-Hispanic white alone population declined by 1%, the Black population grew by 51% (+14k), the Asian population by 50% (+15k), and the Latino population by 38% (+18k).
Very interesting. I live in Granville Station which is getting less diverse. How much did the loss of residency hurt neighborhoods that border suburbs?
The greatest weakening of non-Hispanic white dominance seems to have occurred in older suburbs with working-class populations that are adjacent to minority neighborhoods in the City of Milwaukee, i.e., West Milwaukee and Brown Deer. “Desegregation” in the likes of Whitefish Bay or Fox Point remains hard to find!
Ideologically speaking, I remain concerned that the frequent babbling about the City of Milwaukee being the most or second-most segregated city in the United States is often intentionally demeaning. The picture of how the whole Milwaukee metropolitan area sets up is more striking and much more troubling.
Searching for my neighborhood, which I could not locate! The area is known as the Lower East Side (south of North Av.), Brady Street, or The East Village (north of Brady between Milwaukee River, Humboldt, Warren and Brady– over 1000 residents, according to past Alderman Michael D’amato). It would be helpful to identify all the neighborhoods and their street boundaries, or to allow the maps to be enlarged so as to better localize. Thanks!