Migration makes the region more diverse in unexpected ways
Asian/Pacific Islanders are another major group of in-migrants, while Whites might be starting to move out
Thank you for sharing! Forwarding the newsletter helps spread the word and spark the conversation. I appreciate your support. If you’re ever looking for something more specific such as a specialized chart or other data visualization, feel free to reach out to me directly. More updates coming in September.
A few weeks ago I examined the educational attainment of those coming and leaving the Inland Empire using American Community Survey (hereafter “ACS”) microdata. Today I want to look at how migration is causing other demographic shifts in the region.
Some areas in the U.S. attract older workers or people who are seeking to retire. This is not true in the Inland Empire. Migration patterns are making the region younger. This is a good sign for workforce development, ensuring it will remain dynamic for some time. In 2019, the ACS shows that of the approximately 172,000 people who came to the IE from either other parts of California or other parts of the country, the median age was 32 years. This is lower than the median age of the typical IE resident, which is 35 years. Migration does not push our age down by much, but even a few years is notable when we’re talk about tens of thousands of people.
American Community Survey data can also inform us about shifts in the racial/ethnic makeup of the population. For example, it is well-known that the Inland Empire attracts Hispanic/Latino residents, but in recent years, it is also attracting a substantial amount of Asian and Pacific Islander migrants. In 2019, the balance of migration left the IE with 25,700 more Hispanic/Latino residents and 11,000 more Asian and Pacific Islander residents.
The balance of migration also left the IE with about 2,800 more White residents and 2,400 more African American residents – but the net migration of these two groups has declined between 2014 and 2019.
Recent yearly statistics show a trend upward in Asian and Pacific Islander in-migration and a downward trend in White and African American in-migration. Overall, the data suggest that the Inland Empire is becoming more diverse in some unexpected ways.