EMBARGOED UNTIL: 10 A.M. EST, DECEMBER 3, 1997 (WEDNESDAY) Public Information Office CB97-194 301-457-3030/301-457-3670 (fax) 301-457-4067 (TDD) e-mail: pio@census.gov Kristin A. Hansen 301-457-2454 More People Left Than Moved Into Metro Areas in 1995-96, Census Bureau Reports A quarter of a million more people left the nation's metropolitan areas than moved into them during a 12-month period that ended in March 1996 the second time since the mid-1980s that metropolitan areas lost population due to migration, according to a report released today by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau. "During most of the last decade, metro areas had about equal numbers of people moving in and out each year," said Kristin Hansen, the report's author. "Exceptions occurred in the 1992-1993 period, when metro areas experienced a net loss of 317,000 people, and during the mid-1980s, when they had net gains of from 300,000 to nearly half a million." The report, Geographical Mobility: March 1995 to March 1996, P20-497, found that the movers from metro to nonmetro areas were no more likely to come from central cities than from the suburbs. The study also showed that about 43 million Americans 16 percent of the population moved during the March 1995-March 1996 time frame. Most of the moves during the 1995-96 period were local: About two-thirds of movers (26.7 million) stayed in the same county, 8 million moved between counties within the same state, 6.5 million changed states and 1.4 million moved to the U.S. from abroad. Other findings in the report: - While metro areas as a whole had a net loss of residents, the cities and suburbs that comprise them experienced different migration patterns: Between 1995 and 1996, the central cities lost 2.4 million while the suburbs gained 2.2 million as the result of migration. - The Northeast was the only region in the nation to experience a significant net change through internal U.S. migration, suffering a net loss of 234,000 residents. This occurred despite Northeasterners' being the most likely of persons in any region to stay put (only 12 percent moved between March 1995 and March 1996). Westerners, meanwhile, were the most apt to move (21 percent). - Moving rates generally declined with age: Persons aged 20-29 years were the most likely movers (33 percent) during the survey period while those ages 55 and over were the least likely to be movers (less than 10 percent in each age group). - Race and ethnic minorities moved more: Whites had lower overall rates of moving (16 percent) than either African Americans or Asian and Pacific Islanders (about 20 percent each). Persons of Hispanic origin had the highest move rate (23 percent). - Renters were about four times more likely than homeowners to have moved during the period of the survey (34 percent versus 8 percent). Estimates in this report come from data collected in March 1996 in the Current Population Survey (CPS) and are subject to sampling variability, as well as reporting and coverage errors. Some estimates are based on data collected for the CPS in earlier years. One table showing preliminary data on mobility from the Current Population Survey for the March 1996 to March 1997 period is now available on the Internet at http://www.bls.census.gov/cps/pub/1997/mobility.htm. The remaining detailed mobility tables from the survey will be available next spring. A faxed copy of the report may be obtained by calling the Public Information Office's 24-hour Fax-On-Demand service on 1-888-206-6463 and request document number 1263.-X-The Census Bureau pre-eminent collector and provider of timely, relevant, and quality data about the people and economy of the United States. In over 100 surveys annually and 20 censuses a decade, evolving from the first census in 1790, the Census Bureau provides official information about America's people, businesses, industries and institutions.
