Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
The 2000 census showed that almost 113 million people aged 5 years or older,
approximately 43% of this age group, changed their county of residence between
1995 and 2000. Of these, nearly 22 million, or 8.4% of this age group, changed their
state of residence over the previous five years. Spatial differentiations are marked,
and these population flows require further study to understand the principal
characteristics of the current population redistribution across the US If we accept the
nine statistical divisions of the US (see Chapter 3), we find that 16 million people
changed regions between 1995 and 2000 (see Table 6.1). Four regions experienced a
net migration surplus: the three census regions of the South, mainly the states of the
South Atlantic, and the Intermountain West. Net migration for the Pacific region
was negative, mainly because 2.2 million people left California when only
1.45 million settled there. The reversal of California migration flows in the 1990s is
perhaps an accident, but also perhaps a reversal of past trends. Other than the Pacific
coast, net migration was also negative for the four census divisions of the Northeast,
mainly that of the Middle Atlantic. This is a continuation of trends observed since
the 1930s.
Four channels of preferred migration are to be noted, which is to say, four
migratory channels appear to dominate internal population movements. One fairly
obvious migration pattern concerns the states of the Atlantic coastal zone, and
accounting for movements between the New England, Middle Atlantic, and South
Atlantic census regions. The South Atlantic census region extends from northern
Virginia and the Washington-Baltimore CMSA (Consolidated Metropolitan
Statistical Area) to Florida, through Virginia, the Carolinas, and Atlanta. In this
population exchange, the South Atlantic gained population from both northern
regions, while New England gained population from the Middle Atlantic.
The Great Lakes Region is a net exporter of population to the three census
divisions of the South, and the Great Plains census division. It is the South Atlantic
census division that benefits most.
There is a southern migratory zone, made up of significant flows among the
three southern census divisions. They are essentially balanced even if the South
Atlantic is the net beneficiary. Finally, there is a great western zone extending to the
North Central and Southwest census divisions, and which largely benefits the
Intermountain West.
It is best to use traditional analytical tools when considering migration flows at
the state level, especially when the migration flows are too numerous to be of use in
a comprehensive way. Following the methodology of the French Statistical Institute
