Mobility trends and patterns of Latinix by U.S. Census region

We draw on census data from 1970 to 2010, the American Community Survey from 2010 to 2016, and the Current Population Survey 200 to 2016 to examine trends in the size and composition of the Latino population in the U.S. as well as their internal mobility. We study Mexicans, Cubans, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Central Americans, and South Americans and compare them to one another and to non-Hispanic Whites and non-Hispanic Blacks. We conduct our analysis in all four census regions in the U.S., namely the Northeast, the Midwest, the West and the South. Our analysis shows that the growth and development of the Latino population in the Northeast are very different than that in the other census regions. For example, Latinix in the Northeast are the most diverse and not dominated by Mexicans. They are generally internal migrants or people who migrate or move to another state within the United States, predominantly documented, with a large majority being citizens. In the Midwest, South and West, Mexicans predominate the Latino population. Puerto Ricans are the next largest group in the Midwest and Cubans are second in the South. The majority of Mexicans and Cubans are external migrants, or people who move in the United States from abroad or another country and are not U.S. citizens, in the West and South. Within the Southern region, we find considerable Mexican internal migration from Texas to Tennessee, Georgia, and the Carolinas. Similarly, we observe a strong internal movement in the West from California and Arizona to Nevada, Colorado, and New Mexico. The Midwest, has yet a different composition of the five Latinix groups. In all four regions we find that Latinos have switched from living in central cities to living in the suburbs. This raises many questions about the suburbanization of poverty. Overall, we find high rates of internal migration by Latinos.