Migration and Dispersal of Hispanic and Asian Groups: An Analysis of the 2006-2008 Multiyear American Community Survey

Julie Park, University of Maryland
William H. Frey, University of Michigan

This paper evaluates the selective migration processes of Hispanics (Mexicans, Puerto Ricans,Cubans, Salvadorans, and Dominicans) and Asians (Chinese, Indians, Filipinos, Vietnamese, and Koreans). We employ restricted migration data from the 2006-08 American Community Survey (ACS) at the US Census Bureau’s Research Data Centers. In this paper we examine the intermetropolitan destinations of each group’s out migrants from the group’s primary settlement areas. We test two hypotheses based on the perspectives of coethnic community attraction (out-migration is lower and destinations have high co-ethnic population shares) and of spatial assimilation (those with higher human capital or native borns are most likely to out-migrate and destinations have lower co-ethnic population shares). The results confirm that co-ethnic community attraction positively influences their destination selections. In contrast, spatial assimilation influences are almost nonexistent. For some Asian groups, it is the most educated and native-born migrants who select destinations with greater coethnic population shares.