A Tale of Two Sectors: Historic and Contemporary Perspectives on New York City Public and Private School Segregation

Over half of the white school-aged population attends private schools in New York City, compared to less than 9% of Black and 7% of Hispanic students. We explore how between- and within-sector enrollment differences influence overall NYC school segregation. We find that nearly one-quarter of NYC's school segregation is attributable to segregation between the public and private sectors, 60% is due to within-public-sector segregation, and the remaining 16% is explained by within-private-sector segregation. While New York City is in some ways a unique case, these patterns likely extend to other major cities experiencing neighborhood gentrification and demographic change.