Reassessing Elderly Sunbelt Migration

Abstract

Following the trend of general migration, 1965-1970, more than half of elderly interstate migrants moved to 15 Sunbelt states located on the eastern, southern, and western rim of the United States. While the Snowbelt sent the majority of these migrants to the Sunbelt, there was a smaller flow of migrants back to the Snowbelt. In general, the elderly interstate migrants, whether they moved to the Sunbelt or the Snowbelt, were more independent economically than the elderly residents at the destination. However, Sunbelt inmigrants outranked Snowbelt inmigrants on socioeconomic levels. Overall, then, in this population redistribution, the Sunbelt appears to benefit from added elderly consumers who will place little demand on social services, at least in the short run.