How Segregated is the City of Albany?

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published July 2026

“The 2020 Census offers new information on changes in residential segregation in metropolitan regions across the country as they continue to become more diverse. These new data mostly reinforce patterns that were observed a decade ago: high but slowly declining black-white segregation, and less intense but hardly changing segregation of Hispanics and Asians from whites. Enough time has passed since the civil rights era of the 1960s and 1970s to draw this conclusion: segregation will continue to divide Americans well into the 21st Century.”

• Metropolitan Segregation: No Breakthrough in Sight, Center for Economic Studies (CES)

At Albany Data Stories as we examine housing, socioeconomic change, crime and related topics we keep coming back to a larger question - what are the racial divides in the City of Albany, how can we measure them and how pronounced or significant are they?

We won’t pretend that we are experts in the history and events that have shaped Albany’s racial divides.  However we can point to 1920s and 30s redlining as a force that continues to define the City today; All Over Albany wrote an excellent piece on redlining, the map above shows the old redlining map from the Mapping Inequality Project.

Segregation can be quantified, turned into objective analysis.  In our exploration we found two papers that directed our first step:  “The Persistence of Segregation in the 21st Century Metropolis” and “Metropolitan Segregation: No Breakthrough in Sight”.  We then analyzed the City’s segregation using the Index of Dissimilarity (a tutorial and explanation from Howard University).  

Using the Index we can ask and answer questions:

• Can we quantify the City of Albany’s segregation as of the 2020 Census?  Yes, the City’s Black/White segregation is slightly below the national average and the City’s Hispanic/White segregation is meaningfully below the national average.  While the levels of segregation are below the national average, the City’s segregation is very concerning; the study quantifies what is subjectively judged, the City has a problem.

• How did the City’s segregation change between the 2000, 2010 and 2020 Census?  The City’s level of Black/White segregation remain materially unchanged in the last two decades.  Hispanic/White segregation worsened between 2000 and 2010 as the City’s Hispanic population grew; Hispanic/White segregation stabilized between 2010 and 2020.

• How does the City’s segregation compare against National averages, large metro areas and our neighbor peers, Troy and Schenectady?  The City’s level of segregation is materially above that of Troy and Schenectady.  The City’s Black/White segregation is at the midpoint of the top 50 US metropolitan levels, while the City’s Hispanic/White segregation is below the midpoint of top 50 US metropolitan areas

In this article we will explain the Index of Dissimilarity, describe our data acquisition and processing, and show the Index results for Albany and its peers.

We are using Census Bureau Census Tracts (2000, 2010, 2020) for our analysis so a short explanation of what a Tract is. 

The Census Bureau defines Census Tracts for the purpose of collecting and disseminating demographic information.  Census tracts generally have a population size between 1,200 and 8,000 people, with an optimum size of 4,000 people.  Each boundary typically covers a relatively homogeneous population.  The boundaries in red are a few of the City of Albany’s 29 Census Tracts.

The Index of Dissimilarity (hereafter “the Index”) is a recognized way to measure segregation.  The Index captures the “degree to which two groups are evenly spread among census tracts in a given city.”  “Evenness” is in comparison to the City as a whole.  A value of 0 implies that a City has a racial mix across the City that is equal to the entire City.  A value of 100 implies a City that is completely segregated.

When we use the Index we are comparing demographic race data at the Census Tract geography.  We will compare the racial mix by Census Tract versus the racial mix of the entire City.  When we compare Black versus White segregation the math looks like this:

(1/2) Σ |bi /B – wi /W|, 

or the sum of the absolute values of the Tract to City ratios of black minus white populations, multiplied by 0.5

where 

bi = the Black population in a Census Tract

B = the Black population of the City

wi = the White population in a Census Tract

W = the White population of the City

However it’s easier to see how this plays out with a demonstration.  Imagine a City with 1000 people and two Census Tracts.  The City’s Black population is 600 and the White population is 400.

For this hypothetical City lets look at three scenarios.

We analyzed the City of Albany’s Index of Dissimilarity for 2000, 2010 and 2020, and Troy and Schenectady for 2020.  We calculated the Index for both Black/White dissimilarity and Hispanic/White dissimilarity.

For reference, the national averages for the Index of Dissimilarity:

• Black/White, an 8 point decrease over 20 years
  • 2000 = 63
  • 2010 = 58
  • 2020 = 55 
• Hispanic/White, a 6 point decrease over 20 years
  • 2000 = 51
  • 2010 = 48
  • 2020 = 45

The City of Albany’s Indexes:

• Black/White dissimilarity, a 2 point decrease over 20 years
  • 2000 = 52
  • 2010 = 52
  • 2020 = 50
• Hispanic/White dissimilarity, a 3 point increase over 20 years
  • 2000 = 34
  • 2010 = 38
  • 2020 = 37

The City of Schenectady’s Indexes:

• Black/White dissimilarity
  • 2020 = 35
• Hispanic/White dissimilarity
  • 2020 = 31

The City of Troy’s Indexes:

• Black/White dissimilarity
  • 2020 = 27
• Hispanic/White dissimilarity
  • 2020 = 22

To compare the City of Albany’s segregation against the top 50 metro areas in the USA, see the Census Bureau report, pdf page 18 for black/white segregation and pdf page 22 for hispanic/white segregation.  

While our analysis is focused on the City’s overall racial segregation we can view both Black/White and Hispanic/White segregation by Census Tract to better understand the patterns

In the maps below we will use the following terms:

• “Large imbalance” when an individual tract’s Index is < -0.04 (White) or > 0.04 (Black or Hispanic)
• “Medium imbalance” when an individual tract’s Index is between -0.02 and  -0.04 (White) or between 0.02 and 0.04 (Black or Hispanic)
• “Small imbalance” when an individual tract’s Index is between 0.0 and -0.02 (White) or between 0.0 and 0.02 (Black or Hispanic)

The City’s Black/White Index quantifies West Albany, Arbor Hill and the South End as the most extreme areas of segregation.  Center Square and Albany west of Manning Boulevard are the areas with the largest White segregation.

The Hispanic/White index demonstrates the South End and Delaware Avenue as the areas with the largest Hispanic segregation.  There are fewer areas that are White segregated relative to Hispanic populations - Melrose, Buckingham, the Campus and southwest Albany.  West Hill, Arbor Hill and Center Square have lower Hispanic/White segregation relative to Black/White segregation.

As noted in the research paper “Metropolitan Segregation”:

“Demographers typically interpret change either up or down in the following way:

• Change of 10 points and above in one decade - Very significant change

• Change of 5-10 points in one decade - Moderate change

• Below 5 points in one decade - Small change or no real change at all”

What does this data mean?  There are numerous conclusions that we can make:

1. Albany is a segregated City - in both Black/White and Hispanic/White dimensions - and we can quantify the segregation.
2. Albany’s level of Black/White segregation remained materially unchanged between the 2000 and 2020 Censuses.  Black/White segregation only dropped two points over two decades, from 52 to 50.  While nationwide Black/White segregation has moderately changed, in the City of Albany there has been “Small change or no real change at all.”
3. Albany’s Hispanic/White segregation increased between 2000 and 2010 before stabilizing between 2010 and 2020.  The increase in segregation between 2000 and 2010 is likely tied to an increasing hispanic population between 2000 (5,400 people) and 2010 (8,400 people).  Hispanic immigration likely had a bias towards existing Hispanic-prevalent neighborhoods which reinforced the segregation Index.
4. We will need to wait for the 2030 Census release to understand if the City’s level of segregation has changed; unfortunately the data from the Census’ American Community Survey releases would not have the reliability that we need for a mid-decade update.
5. The City’s segregation is not a function of the metro area that we live in.  Our peer cities - Troy and Schenectady - have significantly lower levels of segregation.
6. Race and racial divides must be a central theme of our housing analysis and housing strategy.  As an example, the City’s 2025 housing audit only discussed race in the margins, and did not examine or analyze segregation.  
7. Lastly, the Index of Dissimilarity is one method for measuring segregation.  We could examine other methods or models for a second opinion.  For example, the Schelling model is another model for measuring segregation.

We posted the Google Sheet that we used for this analysis here.  

Explaining our process:

1. We downloaded US Census Bureau population data by Census Tract, by race for the Counties that we wanted to analyze, for example, this is a link to downloading Albany County data
2. We downloaded the data by County so we first identified which Census Tracts belong to the cities that we wanted to analyze.  We flagged these Census Tracts in row 3 of each sheet for “In City of Albany” 
3. We created Census Tract Black populations (row 4) by summing the “Black or African American alone” variable + all other variables where individuals self-identified as two or more races, e.g. “Black or African American; Asian”
4. We created County and City totals of population for each population variable (e.g. Hispanic or Latino, Black or African American Alone, etc) in columns B-E
5. We created an Index of Dissimilarity component for each Census Tract for Black & White dissimilarity (row 5) and Hispanic & White dissimilarity (row 6)
6. We then created a city-wide Index for Black & White dissimilarity (cell F5) and Hispanic & White dissimilarity (cell F6)
7. We performed the above operations on the City of Albany for the 2000, 2010 and 2020 Censuses, the City of Troy for 2020, and the City of Schenectady for 2020.

One note regarding the Hispanic/White Index.  Hispanic is a demographic variable that is independent of race.  It is possible to be White Hispanic, Black Hispanic, or two or more races one of which is Hispanic.  We decided to create an index of white (which could include White Hispanics) and Hispanic; we may re-examine this as an Index of White non-Hispanic versus Hispanic.

We can appreciate that analyzing segregation is a challenging topic. We are interested in any questions, comments or concerns about our analysis.  Please email us at albanydatastories@gmail.com or comment on any of our related social media posts.