Immigration, Domestic Migration, and U.S. Metropolitan Area Change: Contrasting the 1990s with the 1980s

William H. Frey, University of Michigan

A new demographic dynamic affecting metropolitan populations was identified after the 1990 US Census: the tendency for immigrant flows and domestic migration flows to dominate growth in different metropolitan areas, nonmetropolitan areas and regions. This dynamic lead to concerns about emerging dual economies in some areas, and brain drains in others. New analyses of 2000 Census data suggest that these distinctions between immigrant and domestic migration processes are less clear-cut, with domestic migration from immigrant port-of-entry areas more broadly based, and immigrant destinations more dispersed and differentiated by skill level. Their changing impacts on "high immigration", "high domestic migration" and "high out-migration" metro areas are assessed in this analysis of race-ethnic and education selective immigration and domestic migration for 1985-90 and 1995-2000. The changing nature of possible linkages and complementarities between these two migration processes are evaluated.