In what way can racial segregation exacerbate socioeconomic disparities within a community?

Racial segregation can lock a community into a cycle where certain groups live in neighborhoods that have fewer good schools, jobs, and health services. Because people in those areas have less access to quality education and high‑pay jobs, they earn lower wages and find it harder to move up the economic ladder. For example, a city’s predominantly minority district might have only a handful of grocery stores and a single underfunded school, while a nearby affluent neighborhood enjoys multiple supermarkets and top‑rated schools. As a result, residents of the segregated area face higher unemployment and lower incomes, which keeps the community stuck in poverty. Over time, this deepens the socioeconomic gap between the segregated neighborhood and the rest of the city.