An American Diaspora? Patterns of Jewish Population Distribution and Change, 1971-1980

Abstract

By most estimates, the American Jewish population reached an historic plateau of over six million persons during the late 1960s. While Jewish populations traditionally have registered much lower fertility rates than other religio-ethnic communities, most observers claim that American Jews have already reached Zero Population Growth, and soon may exhibit Negative Population Growth (Goldstein, 1981; Goldschneider & Uhlenberg, 1969). As Goldstein observes (1981:10), these demographic trends give special importance to developments in the spatial or locational features of the American Jewish population. Group size and density are important factors effecting in-group solidarity, as well as dominant group prejudice and discrimination. Thus, in the context of low fertility rates and relative stability of population size, a trend toward geographic dispersion for American Jews could have significant implications for Jewish community life. This paper examines the locational features of the American Jewish population in 1980, as well as changes in that pattern between 1971 and 1980. Our concerns are several. To what extent have the trends observed (Newman & Halvorson, 1979) for the 1952-1971 period continued? How do trends in Jewish population distribution either reflect or depart from those of the American population in general, as well as other religious communities? Finally, in the context of other demographic features of American Jewry, what are the implications for future research emerging from the geographic trends encountered?