Education and Repeat Migration; Racial/Ethnic Patterns of Return and Onward Movements in the United States

Beth A. Wilson, Utah State University
E. Helen Berry, Utah State University
Michael B. Toney, Utah State University

Educational attainment is a predictive measure of individual outcomes in migration research. DaVanzo and Morrison (1981; DaVanzo, 1983) find the less educated are more likely to return to areas where they have previously resided, and the more educated are more likely to move onward to new destinations. Prior research however, does not examine whether education differentially effects the migration direction of varying racial and ethnic groups. The National Longitudinal Study of Youth (NLSY79) is utilized to examine repeat migration rates, including onward and return, by comparing data on counties of residence at 22 points in the respondent’s life, controlling for race/ethnicity for Blacks, Hispanics and Whites. This study tests the variables used by DaVanzo and Morrison by examining the direction of repeat migrations and educational levels of participants in the NLSY79, by race/ethnicity.