Race, Class, and the Displacement of White Residents from Gentrifying U.S. Neighborhoods

Abstract Are the adverse consequences of gentrification distributed more along racial or class lines? To answer this question, scholars must consider when and where racially dominant groups are affected by gentrification in addition to minoritized groups. Therefore, this study centers White residents displaced from gentrifying U.S. neighborhoods as its analytic focus. Using restricted-access Panel Study of Income Dynamics data between 2001 and 2019, I find that White displacees shared many demographic characteristics with non-White displacees. White residents were also involuntarily displaced at a rate comparable to that of non-White residents, and both groups were equally likely to move into neighborhoods that were poorer than the ones from which they were displaced. Nevertheless, White displacees earned larger incomes and were displaced from richer neighborhoods. White displacees’ wealthier starting points made their downward mobility less dramatic, enabling them to continue living in better-off neighborhoods after displacement. The spatial and financial advantages of White displacees highlight how race and class can be interwoven to mitigate White residents’ experiences of displacement in ways that are largely unavailable to non-White residents. Findings support elements of both race- and class-based perspectives of gentrification but ultimately suggest that a blended, race-and-class perspective is useful when conceptualizing gentrification-induced displacement.