Measuring the Net Migration of Immigrants to U.S. Metropolitan Areas 1

Abstract

Net migration of immigrants to U.S. metropolitan areas cannot be measured directly because many immigrants, by some estimates as high as 30%, subsequently emigrate from the U.S., thus escaping the ability of federal authorities to locate their whereabouts. Without an accurate measure of immigrant out-migration, net migration cannot be calculated. This study employs cohort survival techniques to indirectly estimate immigrant and native net migration, 1970–1980, for 119 specific metropolitan areas. Several checks are performed to confirm the accuracy of the estimates, which appear to be reasonable.