Census data confirm that the racial makeup of the suburbs changed very gradually between 1960 and 2000. Consider the African American population in the one hundred most populous metropolitan areas between 1980 and 2000, as shown in Table A.1. In approximately two-thirds of these metropolitan areas, the percentage of black suburban population increased somewhat during this period. A few areas even experienced substantial African American suburban growth. Still, increases in black suburbanization were nominal in numerous locations. New York, Boston, San Diego, Tampa, Pittsburgh, Denver, Kansas City, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, and Buffalo are some of the metropolitan areas that experienced black suburban population increases of less than two percentage points over the two decades. Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Detroit, Houston, St. Louis, Seattle, Miami, and Cleveland fared somewhat better. There were even small declines in the black share of the suburban population in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Jose between 1980 and 2000, with more substantial declines in Jacksonville, Memphis, and Raleigh-Durham.

Even in 2000, African Americans composed less than five percent of the suburban population of nearly half of the top one hundred metropolitan areas, including Boston, San Diego, Seattle, Pittsburgh, and Kansas City. In only nine metropolitan areas did blacks constitute at least a fifth of all suburban residents in 2000. All nine of these are in the southeastern part of the country whenWashington, D.C., is included in that region.