Segregated by Age: Are We Becoming More Divided?

Richelle Winkler, Michigan Technological University

This study documents residential segregation by age in the United States in 1990, 2000, and 2010 at multiple scales and investigates how levels of age segregation vary across geographic space. Multi-level analysis of segregation between older adults (age 60 and over) and younger adults (age 20-34) illustrates the extent to which segregation occurs between states, between counties, between county subdivisions, and at the micro-scale between blocks within counties and county subdivisions. Mapping and spatial analysis analyze geographic variation in age segregation, assessing regional patterns and demonstrating spatial clustering. Results show that at the micro scale older and younger adults are moderately segregated (at a similar extent as are Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites), and age segregation is stark in certain geographic areas that experience segregation at both macro and micro levels.