Climate, economy, and the differential migration of white and nonwhite workers

Abstract

Studied migration into each of the 48 continental United States between 1950 and 1960 for 20-44 yr. old whites and nonwhites as it related to climate and economic variables within those states during the same period. For whites, a better climate in the form of more sunshine and higher minimum temperatures was about equally predictive of immigration as were average weekly earnings and increased employment rates. For nonwhites, increased employment rates, weekly earnings, as well as amount of public assistance payments were highly predictive of immigration. Good climate was negatively associated with nonwhite immigration. The 8 predictor variables used (5 climatic and 3 economic) accounted for 46.9% of the white and 64.8% of the nonwhite variance into the 48 states. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)