--- description: Pokémon Go seems like it's everywhere — but it's not everywhere equally, according to a report from the Urban Institute. title: Pokémon Go Is Better in Affluent, White Neighborhoods image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt50fb6720671e98fe/6988a18ba988cacef76b901d/pokemon-go-inequality-portals-dc.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # _Pokémon Go_ Is Easier To Play in Affluent, White Neighborhoods, Report Finds  by [Julia Zorthian](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 8, 2016 4:06 PM CUT  A woman plays Pokemon Go in Lafayette Park in front of the White House in Washington, DC, A woman plays Pokemon Go in Lafayette Park in front of the White House in Washington, DC,Jim Watson—AFP/Getty Images  by [Julia Zorthian](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 8, 2016 4:06 PM CUT _Pokémon Go_ seems like [it’s everywhere](http://time.com/4400791/pokemon-go-iphone-android-nintendo/ "undefined") — but it may not be everywhere equally, according to [a report](http://www.urban.org/urban-wire/pokemon-go-changing-how-cities-use-public-space-could-it-be-more-inclusive "undefined") from the Urban Institute. Players advance by finding Pokéstops and gyms on the digital map by physically going to the corresponding locations in the real world, and the analysis of Washington, D.C. suggests those stops are way more likely to be in relatively affluent or white neighborhoods. “In neighborhoods that are majority white, there are 55 portals on average, compared with 19 portals in neighborhoods that are majority black,” wrote Shiva Kooragayala and Tanaya Srini in the report. They added that this disparity held true even when they controlled for population density and the amount of millennials living in the neighborhoods. The report analyzes data about portals in Niantic’s earlier game _Ingress,_ and the company used the same geographic map and information to construct the world of [_Pokémon Go_](http://time.com/4402123/pokemon-go-nostalgia/ "undefined")_._ The issue may stem from how users used to be able to suggest portal locations for _Ingress,_ and the game’s user base was skewed towards younger, male English-speakers. Plenty have lauded the good that _Pokémon Go_ can do by encouraging people to discover their cities, but that good can become another way to perpetuate inequality if it passes over neighborhoods that aren’t wealthy or majority white. At the very least, fewer Pokéstops makes the game less fun — and potentially [more expensive](http://www.citylab.com/work/2016/08/why-it-sucks-to-play-pokemon-go-if-youre-poor/494765/?utm%5Fsource=SFTwitter "undefined"), if people choose to make in-app purchases to progress. \[[_Urban Institute_](http://www.urban.org/urban-wire/pokemon-go-changing-how-cities-use-public-space-could-it-be-more-inclusive "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4443225/pokemon-go-affluent-white-neighborhoods-report/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4443225/pokemon-go-affluent-white-neighborhoods-report/"},"headline":"Pokémon Go Is Easier To Play in Affluent, White Neighborhoods, Report Finds","datePublished":"2016-08-08T16:06:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:50:21.410Z","description":"The Urban Institute analyzed data for Washington, D.C.","url":"https://time.com/4443225/pokemon-go-affluent-white-neighborhoods-report/","keywords":["Tech","Video Games","Technology"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt50fb6720671e98fe/6988a18ba988cacef76b901d/pokemon-go-inequality-portals-dc.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Zorthian","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt50fb6720671e98fe/6988a18ba988cacef76b901d/pokemon-go-inequality-portals-dc.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"pokemon go inequality portals dc","caption":"pokemon go inequality portals dc","creditText":"Jim Watson—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4443225/pokemon-go-affluent-white-neighborhoods-report/","name":"Pokémon Go Is Easier To Play in Affluent, White Neighborhoods, Report Finds"}}]}] ```