Nativity differences in neighborhood quality among New York City households

This article adds to the literature on locational attainment of immigrants by evaluating how immigrant households in New York City compare with native -born households with respect to neighborhood characteristics. It also exam ines whether the relationship between immigrant status and neighborhood qua lity varies' by race/ethnicity and place of birth. Overall, foreign-born households are more likely than native-born household s to live in neighborhoods with less access to medical care, higher rates o f tuberculosis, and higher concentrations of poverty. Multivariate analyses reveal that all but one of these disadvantages disappear for foreign-born households as a group. However, island-born Puerto Ricans and immigrants-es pecially Dominicans, Caribbeans and Africans, and Latin Americans-are more likely to reside in lower-quality neighborhoods than native-born white hous eholds. Equally important, native-born blacks and Hispanics are also dispro portionately disadvantaged relative to native-born whites, suggesting that a racial hierarchy exists in the locational attainment of households in New York City.