Southerners in the West: The Relative Well-Being of “Direct” and “Onward” Migrants

Stewart E. Tolnay, University of Washington
Suzanne C. Eichenlaub, University of Washington

The Great Migration remains one of the most significant demographic events in U.S. history. At first, southern migrants headed primarily to the Northeast and Midwest. Later, a larger proportion moved to the West. This paper uses information from the 1970 and 1980 public use microdata samples to examine the economic status of southern migrants in the West, specifically comparing the relative well-being of “onward migrants” from the Northeast and Midwest and “direct migrants” from the South. Our findings show that for whites, onward migrants enjoyed higher occupational status and incomes than direct migrants in 1970. In contrast, black and white onward migrants were less likely than direct migrants to be employed in 1970. All differences disappear by 1980. Results are consistent with our hypotheses that focus on differences between onward and direct migrant in human capital acquisition, and on socioeconomic changes occurring at that time in the North and South.