Immigration, Internal Migration, and Compositional Change in Foreign-Born Populations

Erin T. Hofmann, Utah State University
Curtis Smith, Utah State University

Previous research shows that the foreign-born population in new destination states is younger and includes a higher proportion of men than the foreign-born population in traditional destination states. However, the male-heavy character of new destinations is characteristic of only of new destinations in the south and Midwest, with Western states having more gender-balanced immigrant populations. We examine how international and domestic migration shapes these geographic patterns. Using Census and ACS data from 1990 through 2011, we find that foreign-born migration, compared to native-born migration, is more dominated by men (and by working-age adults). New destination states, located in the Southeast and Midwest, exert a unique pull on foreign-born men. The gender selectivity of foreign-born migration is not static, however. Census and ACS data show some evidence that state-to-state flows become less male dominated over time.