Demographic and Socioeconomic Selectivity in Jewish Internal Migration in the United States

Abstract

This paper examines the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of Jewish internal migrants in the United States and the changes in the selectivity of migrants over the course of the last decade of the twentieth century. To this end we utilize data from the 1990 and 2000 National Jewish Population Surveys. We focus on 5-year migration, both intra- and interstate. Further, we distinguish between Jewish men and Jewish women. We apply descriptive analysis of the relationships between migration status and individual social affinities as well as multivariate technique which enables us to evaluate the net effect of individual demographic and socioeconomic factors on the likelihood of moving geographically. We conclude with several implications for Jewish social and cultural vitality.