Suburbs such as Annandale, Va., and Silver Spring, Md., showed large increases in racial ethnic diversity compared with about three decades ago.

Michael Bader, an assistant professor of sociology at American University in the District, attributes part of suburban diversity to newly built housing.

“A lot of those areas were developed after the Fair Housing Act was implemented,” he said. “If you’re building housing and you’re subject to the Fair Housing Act, you shouldn’t have, in those particular units, the legacy effects of segregation.”

He also noted that rental and purchase prices in the suburbs tend to be lower than in cities, offering more opportunities for a diverse population, both in race and income level, to move in.