Many L.A. Latinos Live in Neighborhoods with Few Whites, Study Says

Many Latinos in the Los Angeles area continue to live in ethnic enclaves with few whites as neighbors, according to a study by Brown University researchers.

Latinos in other metropolitan areas are more likely than Southern California Latinos to live in integrated neighborhoods. Nationwide, residential integration has increased significantly in the last decade for Puerto Ricans and South Americans, with lesser increases for Cubans, Central Americans and Mexicans.

The study by John Logan and Richard Turner, called “Hispanics in America: Not Only Mexicans,” used census data to track Latino populations from 1990 to 2010.

For Latinos in Southern California, it is easy to find clusters of fellow Mexicans, Salvadorans or Guatemalans. The Los Angeles area continues to lead the nation in residents of Mexican and Central American origin, though its relative share of those ethnic groups has declined.

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In 2010, according to the study, the average Los Angeles-area resident of Mexican origin lived in a neighborhood that was 18% white, compared to a national metropolitan average of 35% white. The average Los Angeles-area Central American also lived in a predominantly Latino neighborhood with about 16% white residents.