Fewer Americans move; those who do head south

0 Comments | Insight on the News, August 31, 1998 | by Cheryl Wetzstein

Although 42 million Americans changed addresses recently, most moved within their own county. But the Northeast continues to lose population, and the South continues to gain.

Most Americans are staying put, but those who move often seek a suburb in the South, according to a survey by the Census Bureau.

Some 42 million Americans, or 16 percent of the population, packed up and moved between March 1996 and March 1997 -- about the same as the past two years but well below peak rates of 20 percent. Experts suggest the current stay-at-home trend is tied to a rise in telecommuting, which allows people to work at home, and an increase in dual-earner couples, who would have to consider two careers and two commutes if they relocated.

Most Americans who moved didn't go far. Nearly 28 million changed addresses within the same county, and 8 million stayed in the same state. Of the remaining 6 million movers, half went to a new region, with the biggest migration into the 16-state Southern region.

The South, which includes population magnets such as North Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Texas, recorded a net gain of 391,000 people. In contrast, the Northeast, Midwest and West all had net losses of 100,000 people or more. (Since the late 1980s, the South has grown by a net of 2.9 million people. Many have moved from the Northeast, which has seen a net loss of 2.5 million.)

The influx into the South will lead to political and economic changes in Dixie, according to Merle Black, a professor at Emory University in Atlanta and an expert on Southern politics. The population surge will increase the number of Southern seats in the House, says Black. And because the newcomers are 90 percent white and many are college-educated and have higher incomes, they're likely to vote Republican.

Nationally, young adults age 20 to 29 were the most mobile, making up nearly 32 percent of movers. People age 65 and older made up only 4.7 percent of movers. Blacks and Hispanics both had high moving rates of 20 percent, compared with whites, of whom 15.3 percent relocated.

There was also a national shift toward the suburbs, with cities losing 3 million people to migration and suburbs gaining 2.8 million. However, 92 percent of the 1.3 million who moved into the United States from abroad settled in metropolitan areas.

RELATED ARTICLE: America's Children Are Healthier, Safer

America's children are doing better but the nation still has work to do, according to a federal survey released in July.

Children are healthier and violent crime involving juveniles is down, according to the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. Eighteen federal agencies compiled research and survey findings for "America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being," which documents vital statistics on the nation's 69.5 million children.

Parents reported that 81 percent of children are in good or excellent health, and infant mortality is on the decline. The majority of children, including those living in poverty, are being immunized on time. The percentage of children with elevated blood-lead levels has fallen from 88 percent in the late 1970s to just 6 percent. Violent crime committed by a against children is down, and the birthrate among black girls age 15 to 17 dropped by a fourth between 1991 and 1996.

"This is a public-health success story of almost unprecedented magnitude," says Edward Sondik, director of the National Center for Health Statistics at the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "It shows that the collection of this data, with subsequent aggressive legislative action ... has saved many children from permanent learning disabilities."

But more teen-agers are drinking, smoking or using drugs that in the 1980s, and the percentage of children living in poverty has not changed despite decades of social programs. Forty-nine percent of children in households without a father live in poverty, compared with 10 percent of children with married parents.

The results, according to Duane Alexander, director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, show that although the picture is bright, there still is plenty of room for improvement. One of the brightest spots: the continuing decline in births to teen-age girls of all races, from 39 births per 1,000 girls in 1991 to 34 births per 1,000 girls five years later.

Stephanie Ventura, a demographer at the National Center for Health Statistics, cited two main reasons for the decline. "First, there's been a leveling off in the rate of sexual activity among teen-agers," says Ventura. "Second, teen-agers who are sexually active are more likely to be using contraception consistently and correctly."

Adolescent mothers and their children are at greater risk for poverty, poor health and decreased educational opportunities, so the decline in the birthrate has long-term positive implications, according to the report.

Other findings include:

* Four of 10 poor people in the nation were under 18 in 1996. Nearly six in 10 children under age 6 living with a single mother were impoverished.