Ebbs and Flows in Recent U.S. Interstate Migration

Interstate migration exchanges in the United States are temporally and spatially transitory. Both the early and mid-1980s exhibited significant fluctuations in the origins and destinations of U.S. migrants, while the late 1980s and early 1990s were even more unstable. Regions once favored by interstate movers such as the West and the South, while remaining attractive, showed evidence of declining favor in the early 1990s. Meanwhile, numerous states in the national interior regained their attractiveness, including several that gained net migrants for the first time in decades. California exhibited a major turnaround in its migration, perturbing the entire U.S. migration system.