Migration Patterns in U.S. Show Move to South, West

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Migration Patterns in U.S. Show Move to South, West

MBA (4/21/2006) Sorohan, Mike Migration within the U.S. between 2000 and 2004, according to a new report  by the Census Bureau, confirmed two trends: Americans continue to move South and West; and they are leaving large cities. The report, "Domestic Net Migration in the United States: 2000-2004," found that with the country experiencing low and largely similar rates of birth and death nationwide, migration accounts for most changes in regional and urban populations. "The migration story at this broad geographical level is one of net out-migration from the Northeast and Midwest and net immigration to the South," the report said. Between 2000 and 2004, the South saw a net migration of 1.4 million, mostly in the South Atlantic states of Delaware, Maryland, the District of Columbia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. On average, more than 350,000 people moved to this region per year from other areas. The West-defined as Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Nevada-also saw net migration growth, of more than 220,000, during this period, much of it in the Las Vegasarea. The net migration gains of the South and West came at the expense of other regions. The Northeast, and in particular the Mid-Atlantic states of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, saw a net loss of nearly 1 million between 2000 and 2004. The Midwest, and in particular the "Big 10 Conference" states of Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin, saw a net migration loss of nearly 650,000. Interestingly, the Pacific region-Washington, Oregon, California, Alaska and Hawaii-also experienced a net migration loss of 302,000, continuing a trend that saw 1.7 million leave the area between 1990 and 2000. The Census Bureau defines migration as a move that crosses jurisdictional boundaries. This particular report does not include population gains from births and immigration, which skews in part the overall population gains of the Pacific states. Florida saw the highest gain in net migration, with 190,894 people moving to The Sunshine State from other states. Following Florida in the top five net gain states were Arizona (66,344), Nevada (50,803), Georgia (41,298) and North Carolina (39,137). At the bottom end, New York State lost the most people from migration (-182,866), followed by California (-99,039), Illinois (-71,854), Massachusetts (-42,402) and New Jersey (-32,147). Eighteen of the country's 25 largest metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) experienced average annual net outmigration between 2000 and 2004. Neither coast was insulated, the report said. The New York City MSA saw a net outmigration of 211,014, the highest level of any MSA, followed by the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana MSA, with a net outmigration of 117,780. The bottom five also included Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill. (-63,249); San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont (-60,984) and Boston-Quincy-Cambridge (-41,851). On the plus side, sharp gains were reported by Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. (81,460, likely from people leaving the Los Angeles MSA); Phoenix-Scottsdale-Mesa, Ariz. (48,598); Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla. (36,395); Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Ga. (31,026); and Dallas-Ft. Worth-Arlington, Texas (17,119). Twenty-one of the country's 25 largest "micropolitan" statistical areas had net immigration between 2000 and 2004, led by Lake Havasu City-Kingman, Ariz., which saw a net gain of 3,950. "Domestic migration continues to redistribute the country's population," the report said.