Race and Primary, Return, and Onward Interstate Migration

This paper uses the U.S. 1990 Public Use Micro Sample to characterize the 1985-1990 primary, return, and onward interstate migration patterns for blacks and whites. The classification of these three types of migration is based on the state of birth and state of residence at the start and end of the census interval. Major migration streams, migration rates, and net migration are evaluated for each migrant type and compared for blacks and whites. Overall, the migration patterns of blacks resemble those of whites, with an attraction to the South and the Southwest and movement out of the Northeast and the Midwest. Some differences were observed, however, between the two races. Return migration rates were somewhat higher for black migrants as compared with whites, and onward migration rates were lower. Black primary out-migrants represented a larger proportion of the total flows from the southern states as compared with white out-migrant flows, and they represented a larger share of the out-migrants from the rust belt states. The major migration streams also had different regional and national patterns by race and migrant type.