Labor Demand:
Migration Rates by State, Age-Group, and Degree-Level

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For the Year

Migration Rate by Age and Degree Level

Calculation

Net migration within the past year divided into the population (times 1,000) by age group (22-39, 40-64, and 22-64) and degree- level (less than high school, high school, Associates or higher, Bachelors or higher, Graduate or Professional, and all education levels).

Example: (Net in-migration of 22-39 year olds with a Bachelors Degree or higher / population 22-39 with a Bachelors Degree or higher) X 1,000.

The 100% estimates in this file were calculated using the Census Bureau s American Community Survey PUMS person records file. 100% estimates are produced from the PUMS person file by summing all the person weights for people possessing a given characteristic.

These data include in-migrants from outside the US but do not include residents exported to countries outside the US.

A Caution Regarding Standard Errors for the American Community Survey

When interpreting the American Community Survey data, please understand that there are statistical errors associated with them as there are with any sample survey. The standard errors and 90 percent confidence intervals are provided in the data tab for each measure provided. Also, charts displaying the errors and confidence intervals for each of the variables and a technical document describing the data provided by the ACS are provided in the Special Analyses section of the website. These errors do not apply to the decennial census data provided for the years 1990 and 2000.

Note: Blank cells and/or missing data indicate sample sizes are too small and/or standard errors are too large to produce reliable estimates.

Sources/Links

U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) Files. ACS PUMS Files are based on a sub-sample of the complete ACS sample and are representative of about 1% of the Nations households. For a complete explanation of the American Community Survey, visit http://www.census.gov/acs/www/index.htm l, or view our technical document at http://ww w.higheredinfo.org/analyses/2005%20ACS%20Tec hnical%20Issues.doc

Data Availability/Discussion

The net-import calculations are generated from data relating to the questions on the American Community Survey Form which ask whether a respondent lived at the same residence 1 year ago and, if not, what state/country they previously resided in. This differs from the 2000 Census Long Form, where respondents were asked whether they lived at the same residence 5 years ago.

The age categories previously defined for the Census 2000 migration calculations (Age 22-29 and 30-64) are not used when generating migration figures from the ACS PUMS files, as the sample data are not large enough to generate statistically reliable results for the 22-29 age group. Thus, age categories for the ACS PUMS migration calculations are redefined (age 22-39 and 40-64) to improve the statistical reliability of the data while still providing insight into the migration patterns of recent college graduates and younger adults as well as the migration patterns of the more mature working population.

These migration data will be available on a yearly basis starting with the 2005 ACS.