New interactive map plots every single Atlantan by race and ethnicity

• Dustin Cable
• Atlanta’s racial dot map

A new interactive map takes an in-depth look at the United States’ racial demographics and offers some insights into the makeup of American cities, including Atlanta, on a person-by-person level.

Dustin Cable, a senior policy researcher for the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, recently created the map. Based on 2010 U.S. Census data, every dot represents an individual person with each one color-coded by race - a green dot for an African American person, a blue dot for a white individual, a red dot for someone of Asian descent, orange for a Latino man or woman, and brown for people identifying with all others ethnicities.

“This map is an American snapshot; it provides an accessible visualization of geographic distribution, population density, and racial diversity of the American people in every neighborhood in the entire country,” Cable says.

Like other similar Atlanta maps, including the class-based graphic that Atlantic Cities released earlier this year, the city’s racial divide becomes quite evident. Atlanta’s northeastern swath is largely made up of white people, set aside a relatively-dense Latino population along Buford Highway. Meanwhile, much of the south and west areas of Atlanta are largely comprised of African Americans. There are also a handful of dense Asian clusters near Georgia Tech, Midtown, Clarkston, and unincorporated DeKalb.

To see how Atlanta compares to other U.S. cities - including Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New Orleans - check out Wired’s gallery of interactive maps.