Landlords Are Less Likely to Reply to Applicants with Black and Latino Names

In the largest study of its kind to date, researchers created fictitious renters with names more often associated with White, African American or Hispanic identities. They then tracked more than 25,000 interactions between those people and 8,476 property managers in 50 of the largest U.S. cities. Renters with White-sounding name received a 60% response rate, compared to a 54% and 57% response rate for those with African American and Hispanic identities, respectively, according to a new working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research.