The Institutional Affiliation
The United States has always been known as a nation of movers. Americans change their place of residence more often than Europeans do, for example. A significant portion of the population chooses to live in 4 or more different states during their life. Despite the historical pattern, analysts report that Americans are rootless no more. According to the Pew Research Center and Demographic Trends, “only 11.9% of the population moved between 2007 and 2008” (2008), comparing to 20% in 1986 or 16% in 2002.
Surveys show that people move due to different reasons, however, most of them depend on a career opportunity or a good community. Some move (or stay) because of family ties. Baby boomers settle in small cities, sometimes rural areas. In particular, in Maine, New Hampshire, Montana, Vermont and West Virginia. Studies also show that young adults choose big cities and suburb areas with an opportunity of the career growth and developed infrastructure. New York, Washington, San Francisco, Denver, San Diego, Portland, Buffalo and other cities welcome the majority of graduates each year.
According to the Migration Policy Institute, “The United States remains a popular destination attracting about 20% of the world's international migrants” (2015). Most of them live in California, New York, New Jersey, Florida, and Nevada. A little less than half of all immigrants who move to the United States are of Hispanic origin. Immigrants from Mexico settle in West and Southwest: California, Texas, Arizona, Illinois. Los Angeles and New York metropolitan areas are characterized by the largest concentrations of immigrants. Twelve and four percent of total LA and NY metropolitan areas, respectively, are immigrants from Asia. Another areas where most foreigners from Europe, Asia, Africa and Americas settle are Miami, Washington, Chicago, Riverside and San Francisco metropolitan expanses.
During several past decades, metropolitan areas grew twice as rapid and became more populated than micropolitan areas: “over four-fifth (83.7 percent) of the USA population in 2010 lived in the nation's 366 metro areas, and another one-tenth (10.0 percent) resided in the nation's 576 micro areas” (Census Brief, 2011). Hearts of big cities became more inhabited, suburbs expanded. All in all, the diversity of localities allows every person to find the best place to stay depending on the priorities and preferences.
Reference Page
Mackun, P., & Wilson, S. (2011, March). Population Distribution and Change: 2000 to 2010. Retrieved July 15, 2015, from http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-01.pdf
Taylor, P., Morin, R., Cohn, D., &Wang, W. (2008, December 17, 2008, December 29). American Mobility. Retrieved July 15, 2015, from http://pewsocialtrends.org/files/2010/10/Movers-and-Stayers.pdf
Zong, J., & Batalova, J. (2015, February 26). Frequently requested statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States. Retrieved July 15, 2015, from http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/frequently-requested-statistics-immigrants-and-immigration-united-states
