In 2000, 262 million

people aged 5 and older

resided in the United

States. Of this population, 120 million 

(46 percent) lived in a

different home in 2000

than they did in 1995:

35 percent lived in a

different home in the

same state, 8 percent

lived in a different state,

and 3 percent had

moved from abroad.

This report, part of a

series that presents

population and housing

data collected by

Census 2000, highlights

data on the geographical mobility of people 5

and older; more specifically, it focuses on

“movers”; that is, people

who lived in a different

home in 2000 than they

did in 1995.1

The geographical mobility data are derived

from the Census 2000

long-form question on

residence 5 years ago.

A similar question on

previous residence has

been asked on each

census since 1940, except the 1950 census, which asked for residence 1 year

ago. Since the Census 2000 question

covered a 5-year period, it was asked

U S C E N S U S B U R E A U

Helping You Make Informed Decisions

U.S.Department of Commerce

Economics and Statistics Administration

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

Issued September 2003

C2KBR-28

Geographical Mobility: 

1995 to 2000

Census 2000 Brief

By 

Bonny Berkner 

and

Carol S. Faber

b. Where did this person live 5 years ago?

Yes

Name of city, town, or post office

Did this person live inside the limits of the

city or town?

No, outside the city/town limits

Name of county

Name of state

ZIP Code

Figure 1.

Reproduction of the Question on 

Residence 5 Years Ago From Census 2000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 questionnaire.

No, outside the United States — Print name of

foreign country, or Puerto Rico, Guam, etc., below;

then skip to 16.

15

Person is under 5 years old Skip to 33

Yes, this house Skip to 16

No, different house in the United States

a. Did this person live in this house or apartment

5 years ago (on April 1, 1995)?

1 People who did not move during the 5-year

period between 1995 and 2000 as well as those

who had moved but by 2000 had returned to their

1995 residence are defined as nonmovers. Movers

may have moved more than once during the 5-year

period. 
2 U.S. Census Bureau

only of people 5 and older. The

question has always included several parts, such as whether the

respondent lived in the same home

at the earlier date and, if not,

where he or she lived previously.

Information collected from those

who moved includes the name of

the previous city, town, or post

office; ZIP Code; county; and U.S.

State, U.S. territory, or foreign

country (Figure 1).

This report provides an overview

of moving behavior in the United

States2 between 1995 and 2000,

including how many people moved

and the kinds of moves they made.

Moves are classified by whether

they occurred within the same

county, from a different county in

the same state, from a different

state by region, or from abroad.3

Data by race and Hispanic origin

show differences among these

groups in both the rate of moving

and the types of moves. The brief

looks at the number of people who

moved from one region to another

and compares the number and

types of moves reported in Census

2000 with those from the 1990

census. Information for each state

highlights those with low mobility

rates as well as those that attracted migrants from other regions

and from abroad. In addition, this

brief looks at the population by

state of residence in 2000 by place

of birth. 

About half of U.S. residents

changed residence between

1995 and 2000.

Among people 5 and older in

2000, 46 percent moved between

1995 and 2000 (Table 1).4 Onequarter of the population 5 and

older moved within the same county. Among those who moved, 

54 percent moved within the same

county, 21 percent moved between

counties in the same state, 18 percent moved between states, and 

6 percent moved from abroad. 

Over the past four censuses, the 

5-year moving rate ranged very narrowly between 46 percent and 

47 percent. Although the number

of movers 5 and older increased

from about 108 million to 120 million, the moving rate for this population decreased from 47 percent in

1990 to 46 percent in 2000. This

pattern held true for most types of

moves between 1990 and 2000;

that is, the number of people making each type of move increased,

but the proportion declined slightly.

One exception to this general pattern is that the proportion of people

who moved from abroad increased

between 1990 and 2000. The 

7.5 million movers from abroad in

2000 represented a 47-percent

increase over the 5.1 million

in1990, by far the largest relative

increase in any of the categories

shown in Table 1. Also, the proportion moving to a different county in

the same state did not change. 

Non-Hispanic Whites were 

the least mobile racial or

ethnic group.

Census 2000 allowed respondents

to choose more than one race. With

the exception of the Two or more

races group, all race groups discussed in this report refer to people

who indicated only one racial identity among the six major categories:

White, Black or African American,

American Indian and Alaska Native,

2 The text of this report discusses data

for the United States, including the 50 states

and the District of Columbia. Data for the

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico are shown in

Table 4, Figure 3, and Table 6, and Figure 4. 3 Although moves within a county,

between counties, and even between states

can be of overlapping distances, in this

brief, the types of moves are treated as

forming a distance continuum. Within-county moves in general are assumed to be the

shortest, followed by moves to a different

county in the same state, moves to a different state, and those from abroad. 

Table 1.

Number and Percentage of Movers by Type of Move for

the Population 5 Years and Older: 1985 to 1990 and

1995 to 2000

(Data based on a sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling

error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)

Type of move

1990 2000

Number

Percent NumberPercent

Total . . ............................. 230,445,777 100.0 262,375,152 100.0

Same residence 5 years ago (nonmovers) . 122,796,970 53.3 142,027,478 54.1

Different residence 5 years ago (movers) . . . 107,648,807 46.7 120,347,674 45.9

Within same county .................... 58,675,635 25.5 65,435,013 24.9

Different county, same state. ............ 22,279,165 9.7 25,327,355 9.7

Different state . . . ...................... 21,585,297 9.4 22,089,460 8.4

Northeast ........................... 4,346,471 1.9 4,345,115 1.7

Midwest . . . ......................... 4,854,669 2.1 4,659,175 1.8

South .............................. 7,588,749 3.3 7,688,697 2.9

West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,795,408 2.1 5,396,473 2.1

Abroad 5 years ago* ................... 5,108,710 2.2 7,495,846 2.9

* This category includes movers from foreign countries or at sea (for example, people living on a

boat), as well as movers from Puerto Rico, U.S. Island Areas, and U.S. minor outlying areas.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 3; 1990 Census of Population, Summary

Tape File 3.

4 The estimates in this report are based on

responses from a sample of the population.

As with all surveys, estimates may vary from

the actual values because of sampling variation or other factors. All statements made in

this report have undergone statistical testing

and are significant at the 90-percent confidence level unless otherwise noted.
Asian, Native Hawaiian or Other

Pacific Islander, and Some other

race.5 The use of the single-race

population in this report does not

imply that it is the preferred

method of presenting or analyzing

data. The Census Bureau uses a

variety of approaches.6

Moving rates and types of moves

differed by racial and ethnic characteristics. Less than half of

Whites, non-Hispanic Whites, and

Blacks moved during the 1995 to

2000 period, while all the other

racial and ethnic groups had higher

moving rates (Table 2).7 Some other

race, Hispanics (of any race), and

Blacks were most likely to have

moved within the same county 

(34 percent, 32 percent, and 31 percent, respectively). In contrast,

Asians and non-Hispanic Whites

were the least likely to make intracounty moves (22 percent and 

23 percent, respectively). NonHispanic Whites were more likely to

have moved from a different county, whether in the same state 

(10 percent) or from a different

state (9 percent), than either Blacks

or Hispanics. Asians were much

more likely than any of the other

groups to have moved from abroad

(14 percent), although 10 percent of

Hispanics lived outside the United

States in 1995. 

The South gained population

through internal migration. 

Among migrants within the United

States (excluding those from

abroad), more people moved to the

South during the 1995 to 2000

period than to any other region.8

U.S. Census Bureau 3

Table 2.

Type of Move by Race and Hispanic Origin for the Population 5 Years and Older:

1995 to 2000

(Data based on a sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see

www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)

Race and Hispanic origin

Total Nonmovers Movers

Percent moved

Total

Within

same

county

From different

county

From

abroad*

Same

state Different

Total. . . ........................... 262,375,152 142,027,478 120,347,674 45.9 24.9 9.7 8.4 2.9

White alone............................ 198,544,098 111,545,820 86,998,278 43.8 23.4 10.0 8.7 1.8

Black or African American alone.......... 31,616,957 16,223,625 15,393,332 48.7 30.6 8.4 7.4 2.3

American Indian and Alaska Native alone . 2,243,344 1,132,387 1,110,957 49.5 26.5 12.4 8.7 1.8

Asian alone............................ 9,520,205 4,374,003 5,146,202 54.1 22.4 8.7 8.7 14.2

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific

Islander alone ........................ 347,400 155,819 191,581 55.1 27.6 8.7 10.7 8.1

Some other race alone.................. 13,802,883 5,809,056 7,993,827 57.9 33.8 7.8 6.3 10.0

Two or more races ..................... 6,300,265 2,786,768 3,513,497 55.8 29.2 10.5 9.5 6.6

Hispanic or Latino (of any race) .......... 31,569,576 14,047,118 17,522,458 55.5 31.8 7.8 6.4 9.6

White alone, not Hispanic or Latino....... 183,342,983 104,404,231 78,938,752 43.1 22.9 10.2 8.9 1.1

* This category includes movers from foreign countries or at sea (for example, people living on a boat), as well as movers from Puerto Rico, U.S. Island

Areas, and U.S. minor outlying areas.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 3.

5 For further information on each of the

six major race groups and the Two or more

races population, see reports from the

Census 2000 Brief series (C2KBR), available

on the Census 2000 Web site at 

www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000

/briefs.html. 6 This report draws heavily on Summary

File 3, a Census 2000 product that can be

accessed through American FactFinder, available from the Census Bureau’s Web site,

www.census.gov. Information on people who

reported being more than one race, such as

“White and American Indian and Alaska

Native” or “Asian and Black or African

American,” is forthcoming in Summary File 4,

which will also be available through American

FactFinder in 2003. About 2.6 percent of people reported they were more than one race. 

7 Hereafter this report uses the term

Black to refer to people who are Black or

African American, the term Pacific Islander to

refer to people who are Native Hawaiian and

Other Pacific Islander, and the term Hispanic

to refer to people who are Hispanic or

Latino.

Because Hispanics may be of any race,

data in this report for Hispanics overlap with

data for racial groups. Based on Census

2000 sample data, the proportion Hispanic

was 8.0 percent for Whites, 1.9 percent for

Blacks, 14.6 percent for American Indians

and Alaska Natives, 1.0 percent for Asians,

9.5 percent for Pacific Islanders, 97.1 percent for those reporting Some other race,

and 31.1 percent for those reporting Two or

more races. 

8 The Northeast region includes the states

of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New

Hampshire, New Jersey, New York,

Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

The Midwest region includes the states of

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan,

Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota,

Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. The

South region includes the states of Alabama,

Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia,

Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi,

North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina,

Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and

the District of Columbia, a state equivalent.

The West region includes the states of Alaska,

Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho,

Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah,

Washington, and Wyoming. 
Over 5 million people moved to

the South, followed by 2.7 million

to the West (Table 3). The South

also had the highest number of

outmigrants (3.2 million), while the

West had the lowest (2.7 million).

The data in Table 3 also show that

the South had the greatest gain

through both internal migration

(1.8 million) and movers from

abroad (2.6 million) during the

period. The West had almost equal

numbers of inmigrants and outmigrants. The Northeast (-1.3 million) and the Midwest (-541,000)

lost more population than they

gained through internal migration

between 1995 and 2000; however,

in both cases the number of

movers from abroad exceeded the

net internal migration loss. 

Figure 2 shows the number of people 5 and older who moved from

one region to another between

1995 and 2000. Large numbers of

movers flowed to the South from

each of the other regions, particularly the Northeast. The South also

received more migrants from every

region than it sent. Although the

West sent more migrants to the

South than it received, it gained

migrants from the other regions.

The Midwest gained only from the

Northeast, while the Northeast

sent more migrants to each other

region than it gained. 

Moving rates varied by region,

state, and county. 

The West and the South had the

most mobile populations. Slightly

more than half (51 percent) of the

population 5 and older living in the

West moved between 1995 and

2000, followed by 48 percent in the

South, 44 percent in the Midwest,

and 39 percent in the Northeast

(Table 4). Movers to the West and

the South were about equally likely,

and movers to other regions were

more likely, to have come from a

different county in the same state

as from a different state. 

In 2000, the states with the most

mobile populations were Nevada at

63 percent, and Colorado and

Arizona both at 56 percent 

(Table 4). Compared with 1990,

Colorado replaced Alaska on this

list. Pennsylvania and West

Virginia at 37 percent each, and

New York at 38 percent had the

lowest percentages of people living

in a different residence in 2000

than in 1995. These three states

also had the lowest percentages of

people living in a different house

4 U.S. Census Bureau

Table 3.

Net Migration for Regions for the Population 5 Years and

Older: 1995 to 2000

(Data based on a sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling

error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)

Region

Internal migration

Movers from

Inmigrants Outmigrants Net abroad*

Total. . . ............... 11,655,373 11,655,373 0 7,495,846

Northeast.................. 1,537,293 2,807,951 -1,270,658 1,567,331

Midwest ................... 2,409,578 2,950,767 -541,189 1,057,870

South . . . .................. 5,042,453 3,242,654 1,799,799 2,615,279

West. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,666,049 2,654,001 12,048 2,255,366

* This category includes movers from foreign countries or at sea (for example, people living on a

boat), as well as movers from Puerto Rico, U.S. Island Areas, and U.S. minor outlying areas.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 3.

Figure 2.

Region-to-Region Migration: 1995-2000

(Number in thousands)

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 3.

American Factfinder at factfinder.census.gov provides census

data and mapping tools.

375

1,873

560

318

1,713

920 838

1,218

1,186

381

816

1,457

WEST

MIDWEST

SOUTH

NORTHEAST
U.S. Census Bureau 5

Table 4.

Geographical Mobility for the United States, Regions, and States, and for Puerto Rico for

the Population 5 Years and Older: 1995 to 2000

(Data based on a sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see

www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)

Geographic area of

residence in 2000

Total Nonmovers Movers

Percent moved

Total

Within

same

county

From different county

From

abroad*

Same

state

Different

state

United States .............. 262,375,152 142,027,478 120,347,674 45.9 24.9 9.7 8.4 2.9

Regions

Northeast...................... 50,224,209 30,598,767 19,625,442 39.1 22.0 7.8 6.1 3.1

Midwest ....................... 60,054,144 33,804,543 26,249,601 43.7 24.8 10.3 6.9 1.8

South......................... 93,431,879 49,013,517 44,418,362 47.5 24.1 10.5 10.2 2.8

West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58,664,920 28,610,651 30,054,269 51.2 29.0 9.2 9.2 3.8

States and District of Columbia

Alabama ...................... 4,152,278 2,384,847 1,767,431 42.6 24.7 8.8 7.9 1.2

Alaska ........................ 579,740 267,958 311,782 53.8 27.7 7.5 16.5 2.2

Arizona ....................... 4,752,724 2,103,907 2,648,817 55.7 30.6 4.5 16.8 3.9

Arkansas ...................... 2,492,205 1,327,374 1,164,831 46.7 24.8 10.5 10.1 1.4

California ...................... 31,416,629 15,757,539 15,659,090 49.8 30.9 9.8 4.6 4.5

Colorado ...................... 4,006,285 1,768,678 2,237,607 55.9 23.0 13.5 16.1 3.4

Connecticut .................... 3,184,514 1,852,990 1,331,524 41.8 25.1 5.3 8.2 3.3

Delaware ...................... 732,378 409,776 322,602 44.0 25.5 2.3 13.9 2.4

District of Columbia .............. 539,658 269,299 270,359 50.1 23.5 (X) 20.9 5.6

Florida ........................ 15,043,603 7,352,091 7,691,512 51.1 25.7 8.7 12.4 4.3

Georgia ....................... 7,594,476 3,735,653 3,858,823 50.8 21.1 13.8 12.7 3.2

Hawaii ........................ 1,134,351 643,806 490,545 43.2 26.0 2.1 11.0 4.1

Idaho ......................... 1,196,793 593,848 602,945 50.4 23.9 9.4 15.3 1.8

Illinois ........................ 11,547,505 6,558,427 4,989,078 43.2 26.1 8.3 5.8 3.1

Indiana........................ 5,657,818 3,110,861 2,546,957 45.0 25.5 10.2 8.0 1.3

Iowa.......................... 2,738,499 1,558,455 1,180,044 43.1 23.3 10.6 7.8 1.4

Kansas ....................... 2,500,360 1,310,009 1,190,351 47.6 24.3 10.2 11.1 2.1

Kentucky ...................... 3,776,230 2,112,135 1,664,095 44.1 24.7 9.7 8.4 1.2

Louisiana ...................... 4,153,367 2,452,282 1,701,085 41.0 24.5 9.3 6.1 1.0

Maine......................... 1,204,164 717,407 486,757 40.4 22.9 7.7 9.0 0.9

Maryland ...................... 4,945,043 2,752,061 2,192,982 44.3 21.9 9.4 10.0 3.0

Massachusetts.................. 5,954,249 3,481,597 2,472,652 41.5 22.8 7.8 7.5 3.5

Michigan ...................... 9,268,782 5,307,228 3,961,554 42.7 25.1 10.9 5.0 1.7

Minnesota ..................... 4,591,491 2,617,599 1,973,892 43.0 20.3 13.1 7.7 1.8

Mississippi ..................... 2,641,453 1,544,846 1,096,607 41.5 22.5 9.4 8.6 1.0

Missouri ....................... 5,226,022 2,803,368 2,422,654 46.4 23.5 12.5 9.1 1.3

Montana ...................... 847,362 453,995 393,367 46.4 22.5 9.9 13.2 0.8

Nebraska ...................... 1,594,700 872,471 722,229 45.3 23.4 10.5 9.7 1.8

Nevada ....................... 1,853,720 692,787 1,160,933 62.6 30.6 2.8 25.1 4.1

New Hampshire................. 1,160,340 642,397 517,943 44.6 22.3 6.9 14.0 1.4

New Jersey .................... 7,856,268 4,697,484 3,158,784 40.2 20.7 8.7 6.8 4.0

New Mexico.................... 1,689,911 919,717 770,194 45.6 23.7 7.5 12.1 2.3

New York . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,749,110 10,961,493 6,787,617 38.2 21.8 8.2 4.1 4.1

North Carolina .................. 7,513,165 3,980,197 3,532,968 47.0 22.3 9.8 12.2 2.6

North Dakota ................... 603,106 342,460 260,646 43.2 21.8 10.2 10.0 1.2

Ohio.......................... 10,599,968 6,095,656 4,504,312 42.5 26.3 9.5 5.6 1.1

Oklahoma ..................... 3,215,719 1,650,318 1,565,401 48.7 25.1 11.8 10.0 1.7

Oregon ....................... 3,199,323 1,496,938 1,702,385 53.2 27.0 11.1 12.5 2.6

Pennsylvania ................... 11,555,538 7,333,591 4,221,947 36.5 21.7 7.6 5.8 1.4

Rhode Island ................... 985,184 572,209 412,975 41.9 24.4 5.1 9.8 2.6

South Carolina.................. 3,748,669 2,097,193 1,651,476 44.1 22.3 8.3 11.8 1.6

South Dakota................... 703,820 391,777 312,043 44.3 21.2 11.8 10.3 1.0

Tennessee ..................... 5,315,920 2,865,547 2,450,373 46.1 25.2 8.7 10.7 1.5

Texas......................... 19,241,518 9,545,367 9,696,151 50.4 27.0 12.5 7.1 3.8

Utah.......................... 2,023,875 998,458 1,025,417 50.7 26.6 8.9 12.0 3.2

Vermont ....................... 574,842 339,599 235,243 40.9 21.2 6.3 12.1 1.3

Virginia ....................... 6,619,266 3,453,486 3,165,780 47.8 18.1 14.2 12.4 3.1

Washington .................... 5,501,398 2,675,514 2,825,884 51.4 27.5 9.5 11.2 3.2

West Virginia ................... 1,706,931 1,081,045 625,886 36.7 21.0 7.0 8.1 0.5

Wisconsin ..................... 5,022,073 2,836,232 2,185,841 43.5 24.6 11.0 6.7 1.3

Wyoming ...................... 462,809 237,506 225,303 48.7 24.1 7.8 15.7 1.1

Puerto Rico ** .................. 3,515,228 2,560,034 955,194 27.2 15.1 8.2 3.2 0.6

(X) Not applicable.

* This category includes movers from foreign countries or at sea (for example, people living on a boat), as well as movers from Puerto Rico, U.S. Island

Areas, and U.S. minor outlying areas.

** The last 4 column headings for the Puerto Rico line differ from the rest of the table. From left to right, the last four columns are: percent moved within

municipio, percent moved from different municipio to another municipio within Puerto Rico, percent moved from United States, percent moved from Island Areas

or elsewhere.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 3.
6 U.S. Census Bureau 

Geographical Mobility: 1995 to 2000 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 3. American Factfinder at factfinder.census.gov provides census data and mapping tools. 

U.S. p

U.S. p

(Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf) Figure 3. 0 100 Miles 0 100 Miles 

0 100 Miles 
in 1990 than in 1985. In 2000,

California, Arizona, and Nevada

residents were most likely to have

to moved within the same county,

about 31 percent. However,

Nevada residents were also much

more likely to have come from

another state (25 percent) than

were residents of other states. 

Figure 3 contains two maps that

provide information for each state

and county in the United States.

The maps display the proportion of

residents who moved between

counties or into counties from

abroad (larger map) or between

states or into states from abroad

(smaller inset map) between 1995

and 2000. The county map shows

considerable variation, with nearly

all states having a county in at

least three of the five migration

categories. However, high percentages of movers were most frequent in counties in the West and

in parts of the South, including, for

example, Texas, Florida, and northern Georgia. Low percentages

were most frequent in counties in

the Northeast, the Midwest, and

some counties in the South. 

Virginia provides a good example of

variations among counties in a

state. While many of the counties

in eastern Virginia show above-average levels of movement into the

county, many of the counties in the

western half of the state do not. 

The state map in Figure 3 shows

that the highest rate of moves

from other states or from abroad

occurred in Nevada, Arizona,

Colorado, Alaska, and Idaho.

Conversely, the rate of moves from

other states or from abroad was

lowest in Ohio, Michigan,

Louisiana, and Pennsylvania. 

Military and college

metropolitan areas have high

proportions of inmigrants.

Table 5 shows the ten metropolitan

areas with the highest percentage

of inmigrants during the 1995-

2000 period. This list was headed

by the Jacksonville, North Carolina

MSA, and Bryan- College Station,

Texas MSA. Jacksonville has many

military personnel and BryanCollege Station, like other metropolitan areas high on the list,

includes a college town. In general

this ranking highlights one of the

basic facts about geographical

mobility: young adults, particularly

those in college or the military, are

the most mobile segment of 

the population. 

ADDITIONAL FINDINGS

What proportion of people

lived in the state in which

they were born? 

Table 6 differs from the other data

presented in this brief in that it is

not focused on where people lived

5 years ago but, rather, on lifetime

migration. The comparison of data

on state of residence in 2000 with

data on state and region of birth

reflects the cumulative effect of

longer-term migration patterns

over the last few decades. Sixty

percent of people in the United

States were born in their current

state of residence. The Midwest

led the regions in the proportion of

people currently residing in their

birth state (71 percent), and an

additional 11 percent were born

elsewhere in the Midwest. At the

other end of the scale, less than

half of the people living in a state

in the West (47 percent) in 2000

were born in that state. The West

led, however, in the proportion of

the population that was foreignborn, about 19 percent, followed

by the Northeast at 14 percent.

The proportion foreign-born in the

West and Northeast was second

only to the proportion born in their

current state of residence. 

Figure 4 shows a state map of the

percentage of the population born

in their current state of residence.

Among the states, popular migrant

destinations like Nevada (21 percent), Florida (33 percent), and

Arizona (35 percent) had the lowest proportions of people living in

the state in which they were born.

At the other extreme, Louisiana 

U.S. Census Bureau 7

Table 5.

Ten Metropolitan Areas With the Highest Percentage of

People 5 Years and Older Moving Into the Metropolitan

Area From Outside the Area: 1995 to 2000

(Data based on a sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling

error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)

Metropolitan area Percent

90-percent

confidence interval* Number

Jacksonville, NC MSA ................ 45.8 45.0 - 46.6 62,799

Bryan—College Station, TX MSA ...... 44.8 44.0 - 45.6 63,940

Lawrence, KS MSA................... 39.8 38.9 - 40.7 37,617

Bloomington, IN MSA. ................ 39.0 38.1 - 39.9 44,619

Corvallis, OR MSA ................... 38.4 37.4 - 39.5 28,496

Killeen—Temple, TX MSA ............. 37.9 37.3 - 38.5 108,257

Iowa City, IA MSA .................... 37.3 36.4 - 38.2 39,109

Gainesville, FL MSA . . ................ 36.7 35.9 - 37.5 76,103

State College, PA MSA ............... 35.7 34.9 - 36.5 46,259

Athens, GA MSA ..................... 35.3 34.4 - 36.2 51,009

* For the highest percentage of inmigrants, the 90-percent confidence interval is around the percent.

Note: Because of sampling error, the estimates in this table may not be significantly different from

one another or from rates for other geographic areas not listed in this table.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 3.
8 U.S. Census Bureau

Table 6.

Place of Residence in 2000 by Place of Birth for the United States, Regions, and States,

and for Puerto Rico: 2000

(Data based on a sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see

www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)

Place of residence in 2000

Total

population

Percent of population

Native

Foreign

born

Born in state

of residence

Born in another state

Born in U.S.

island areas

or born

abroad of

American

Northeast Midwest South West parents

United States .............. 281,421,906 60.0 6.6 7.8 9.0 4.3 1.3 11.1

Regions

Northeast...................... 53,594,378 65.2 11.2 2.3 4.4 1.2 2.2 13.5

Midwest ....................... 64,392,776 70.9 2.7 10.7 7.2 2.5 0.7 5.5

South......................... 100,236,820 58.1 7.7 7.5 13.9 3.0 1.2 8.6

West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63,197,932 47.3 5.0 10.1 6.8 10.9 1.1 18.6

States and District of Columbia

Alabama ...................... 4,447,100 73.4 2.4 4.7 15.1 1.8 0.7 2.0

Alaska ........................ 626,932 38.1 6.5 13.5 11.2 23.2 1.6 5.9

Arizona ....................... 5,130,632 34.7 8.3 19.5 8.3 15.3 1.1 12.8

Arkansas ...................... 2,673,400 63.9 1.6 10.7 15.3 5.2 0.5 2.8

California ...................... 33,871,648 50.2 4.8 7.4 6.2 4.2 1.1 26.2

Colorado ...................... 4,301,261 41.1 6.7 19.5 10.3 12.5 1.3 8.6

Connecticut .................... 3,405,565 57.0 19.7 2.9 4.6 1.6 3.3 10.9

Delaware ...................... 783,600 48.3 24.0 3.6 15.2 1.6 1.5 5.7

District of Columbia .............. 572,059 39.2 11.9 5.9 23.4 5.6 1.2 12.9

Florida ........................ 15,982,378 32.7 20.0 12.5 13.0 2.4 2.6 16.7

Georgia ....................... 8,186,453 57.8 6.3 6.8 18.3 2.6 1.1 7.1

Hawaii ........................ 1,211,537 56.9 4.2 4.9 5.0 9.0 2.5 17.5

Idaho ......................... 1,293,953 47.2 2.7 9.3 5.3 29.8 0.8 5.0

Illinois ........................ 12,419,293 67.1 2.3 8.9 6.5 1.9 1.0 12.3

Indiana........................ 6,080,485 69.3 2.4 12.4 10.2 2.0 0.5 3.1

Iowa.......................... 2,926,324 74.8 1.3 14.2 3.1 3.1 0.4 3.1

Kansas ....................... 2,688,418 59.5 2.2 17.0 9.9 5.6 0.8 5.0

Kentucky ...................... 4,041,769 73.7 2.2 11.8 8.1 1.7 0.5 2.0

Louisiana ...................... 4,468,976 79.4 1.6 2.8 11.1 1.9 0.6 2.6

Maine......................... 1,274,923 67.3 20.2 3.0 3.7 2.1 0.9 2.9

Maryland ...................... 5,296,486 49.3 12.0 4.3 21.2 2.3 1.1 9.8

Massachusetts.................. 6,349,097 66.1 12.0 2.6 3.3 1.6 2.3 12.2

Michigan ...................... 9,938,444 75.4 2.6 7.5 7.0 1.7 0.6 5.3

Minnesota ..................... 4,919,479 70.2 1.9 15.9 2.9 3.3 0.5 5.3

Mississippi ..................... 2,844,658 74.3 1.4 4.4 16.2 1.8 0.5 1.4

Missouri ....................... 5,595,211 67.8 2.1 13.5 9.2 4.2 0.6 2.7

Montana ...................... 902,195 56.1 3.5 15.6 4.8 17.5 0.8 1.8

Nebraska ...................... 1,711,263 67.1 1.7 15.5 4.6 6.1 0.6 4.4

Nevada ....................... 1,998,257 21.3 8.8 14.1 9.3 29.4 1.3 15.8

New Hampshire................. 1,235,786 43.3 41.9 3.4 3.8 2.3 0.9 4.4

New Jersey .................... 8,414,350 53.4 19.2 1.9 4.7 1.0 2.4 17.5

New Mexico.................... 1,819,046 51.5 4.7 8.9 13.7 11.9 1.0 8.2

New York . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,976,457 65.3 4.7 1.8 4.0 1.0 2.7 20.4

North Carolina .................. 8,049,313 63.0 8.4 5.3 14.8 2.2 0.9 5.3

North Dakota ................... 642,200 72.5 1.2 15.7 2.5 5.6 0.6 1.9

Ohio.......................... 11,353,140 74.7 5.0 4.8 10.4 1.5 0.6 3.0

Oklahoma ..................... 3,450,654 62.6 2.1 10.0 13.7 7.0 0.8 3.8

Oregon ....................... 3,421,399 45.3 3.6 10.7 5.6 25.5 0.9 8.5

Pennsylvania ................... 12,281,054 77.7 7.2 2.9 5.6 1.2 1.2 4.1

Rhode Island ................... 1,048,319 61.4 18.4 2.2 3.1 1.6 1.8 11.4

South Carolina.................. 4,012,012 64.0 7.7 5.0 17.5 2.0 0.8 2.9

South Dakota................... 754,844 68.1 1.3 19.7 2.8 5.9 0.5 1.8

Tennessee ..................... 5,689,283 64.7 3.3 8.8 17.4 2.4 0.7 2.8

Texas......................... 20,851,820 62.2 2.8 6.6 8.9 4.5 1.1 13.9

Utah.......................... 2,233,169 62.9 2.3 4.7 4.1 18.0 0.9 7.1

Vermont ....................... 608,827 54.3 31.3 3.7 3.8 2.3 0.8 3.8

Virginia ....................... 7,078,515 51.9 11.4 6.1 17.7 3.4 1.5 8.1

Washington .................... 5,894,121 47.2 4.0 10.6 6.4 19.9 1.4 10.4

West Virginia ................... 1,808,344 74.2 4.7 6.8 11.6 1.2 0.4 1.1

Wisconsin ..................... 5,363,675 73.4 1.8 15.0 3.6 2.1 0.6 3.6

Wyoming ...................... 493,782 42.5 4.0 21.1 7.1 22.4 0.8 2.3

Puerto Rico* ................... 3,808,610 90.7 4.7 0.7 0.5 0.2 0.3 2.9

* For the Puerto Rico line, the second column heading differs from the rest of the table. It is: Born in Puerto Rico. Columns 3-6 refer to the regions of the

United States.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 3.
(79 percent), Pennsylvania (78 percent), and Michigan (75 percent),

had the highest percentages of residents currently living in their state

of birth. 

A number of other interesting relationships can be seen in Table 6.

For example, 42 percent of the residents of New Hampshire and 

31 percent of those in Vermont

were born in another Northeastern

state. A large intraregional preference can also be seen among the

residents of Idaho, 30 percent of

whom were born elsewhere in the

West. Table 6 also shows the range

in the proportion foreign-born, led

by 26 percent in California and 

20 percent in New York. In several

states in the South and the

Midwest, less than 5 percent of the

population was foreign-born, including West Virginia (1.1 percent) and

Mississippi (1.4 percent). 

ABOUT CENSUS 2000

Why Census 2000 Asked

About Residence 5 Years Ago

Data on residence 5 years ago are

used to assess residential stability

and the effects of migration in both

urban and rural areas. Knowing the

number and characteristics of

movers is essential for federal programs dealing with employment,

housing, education, and the elderly.

The U.S. Census Bureau develops

state population estimates by age

and sex, and small area population

projections based in part on data

about residence 5 years ago. Local

governments use data about migration to forecast the demand for new

public facilities, such as schools,

hospitals, libraries, and fire and

police stations.

Accuracy of the Estimates

The data contained in this report

are based on the sample of households who responded to the

Census 2000 long form.

Nationally, approximately 1 out of

every 6 housing units was included

in this sample. As a result, the

sample estimates may differ somewhat from 100-percent figures that

would have been obtained if all

U.S. Census Bureau 9

MT

56.1

AK

38.1

NM

51.5

OR

45.3

MN

70.2

KS

59.5

SD

68.1

ND

72.5

MO

67.8

WA

47.2

FL

32.7

IL

67.1 IN

69.3

WI

73.4

NY

65.3

PA

77.7

MI

75.4

OH

74.7

IA

74.8

ME

67.3

MA 66.1

CT 57.0

AZ

34.7

NV

21.3

TX

62.2

CO

41.1 CA

50.2

WY

42.5

UT

62.9

ID

47.2

NE

67.1

OK

62.6

GA

57.8

AR

63.9

AL

73.4

NC

63.0

MS

74.3

LA

79.4

TN

64.7

KY

73.7

VA

51.9

SC

64.0

WV

74.2

2.1

RI 61.4

DE 48.3

MD 49.3

DC 39.2

NJ 53.4

U.S. percent

60.0

Percent of state

residents who were

born in the state

70.0 - 90.7

60.0 - 69.9

45.0 - 59.9

21.3 - 44.9

Population Born in State of Residence: 2000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 3. American Factfinder at 

factfinder.census.gov provides census data and mapping tools.

Figure 4.

(Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error,

nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)

PR 

90.7

HI 56.9

VT

54.3

NH

43.3
housing units, people within those

housing units, and people living in

group quarters had been enumerated using the same questionnaires, instructions, enumerators,

and so forth. The sample estimates also differ from the values

that would have been obtained

from different samples of housing

units, people within those housing

units, and people living in group

quarters. The deviation of a sample estimate from the average of

all possible samples is called the

sampling error. 

In addition to the variability that

arises from the sampling procedures, both sample data and 100-

percent data are subject to nonsampling error. Nonsampling error

may be introduced during any of

the various complex operations

used to collect and process census

data. Such errors include: not enumerating every household or every

person in the population, failing to

obtain all required information

from the respondents, obtaining

incorrect or inconsistent information, and recording information

incorrectly. In addition, errors can

occur during the field review of the

enumerators’ work, during clerical

handling of the census questionnaires, or during the electronic

processing of the questionnaires.

Nonsampling error may affect the

data in two ways: (1) errors that

are introduced randomly will

increase the variability of the data

and, therefore, should be reflected

in the standard errors; and (2)

errors that tend to be consistent in

one direction will bias both sample

and 100-percent data in that direction. For example, if respondents

consistently tend to underreport

their incomes, then the resulting

estimates of households or families by income category will tend

to be understated for the higher

income categories and overstated

for the lower income categories.

Such biases are not reflected in the

standard errors. 

While it is impossible to eliminate

nonsampling error from an operation as large and complex as the

decennial census, the Census

Bureau attempts to control the

sources of such error during the

data collection and processing

operations. The primary sources

of error and the programs instituted to control error in Census 2000

are described in detail in Summary

File 3 Technical Documentation

under Chapter 8, “Accuracy of the

Data,” located at www.census.gov

/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf

All statements in this Census 2000

brief have undergone statistical

testing and all comparisons are

significant at the 90-percent confidence level, unless otherwise

noted. The estimates in tables,

maps, and other figures may vary

from actual values due to sampling

and nonsampling errors. As a

result, estimates in one category

may not be significantly different

from estimates assigned to a different category. Further information on the accuracy of the data is

located at www.census.gov/prod

/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf. For further

information on the computation

and use of standard errors, contact

the Decennial Statistical Studies

Division at 301-763-4242. 

For More Information

Census 2000 Summary File 3 data

are available from the American

Factfinder on the Internet (factfinder.census.gov). They were released

on a state-by-state basis during

2000. For information on confidentiality protection, nonsampling

error, sampling error, and definitions, also see www.census.gov

/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf or contact the Customer Services Center

at 301-763-INFO (4636). 

Information on population and

housing topics is presented in the

Census 2000 brief series, located

on the Census Bureau’s Web site at

www.census.gov/population/www

/cen2000/briefs.html. 

This series, which will be completed in 2003, presents information

on race, Hispanic origin, age, sex,

household type, housing tenure,

and social, economic, and housing

characteristics, such as ancestry,

income, and housing costs. 

For additional information on geographical mobility, including

reports and survey data, visit the

Census Bureau’s Internet site at

www.census.gov/population/www

/socdemo/migrate.html. To find

information about the availability

of data products, including reports,

CD-ROMs, and DVDs, call the

Customer Services Center at 

301-763-INFO (4636), or e-mail 

webmaster@census.gov.

10 U.S. Census Bureau