Ranking of metros where immigrants are thriving and where they are moving

The George W. Bush Institute-SMU Economic Growth Initiative has ranked U.S. metro areas for where immigrants are thriving best in America today, in a new report Immigrants and Opportunity in America’s Cities.

Table 1

Where Immigrants are Thriving Best: Top 25 Large Metros

(out of America’s 100 largest metro areas)

Source: Author’s calculations based on U.S. Census Bureau data. See full ranking of America’s 100 largest metros in Appendix 2 of the main report and all underlying data in the online data appendix in this report.

• Best-performing metros for immigrant well-being include major technology centers, college towns, and mid-Atlantic and Midwestern metros that have been intentional in welcoming immigrants and helping them thrive, based on new rankings from the Bush Institute-SMU Economic Growth Initiative.
• Immigrant populations in most metro areas are thriving better in suburban counties than neighboring core counties, county-level data in our report confirm.

Immigrants moving within the United States over the past decade are making very different choices regarding where to live and work than newly arriving immigrants, according to the report.

Table 2

Immigration Rates, 2010-2020: Top 25 Metros

(of America’s 100 largest metro areas)

Source: Author’s calculations based on U.S. Census Bureau data. See full ranking of America’s 100 largest metros in Appendix 2 of the main report and all underlying data in the online data appendix in this report.

Newly arriving immigrants tend to choose traditional metros consistent with historical patterns— New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami. But in all four metros, immigrants experience relatively low median living standards after adjusting for local costs of living—driving large out-migration to other metro areas.

Table 3

Estimated Net Inbound Domestic Migration* Rates by Immigrants, 2010-2020: Top 25 Metros

(of America’s 100 largest metro areas)

*We define Net Inbound Domestic Migration Rate for each metro area as the estimated number of foreign-born people moving into the metro area from elsewhere in the United States between 2010 and 2020 divided by the metro’s total 2010 population.

Source: Author’s calculations based on U.S. Census Bureau data. See full ranking of America’s 100 largest metros in Appendix 2 of the main report and all underlying data in the online data appendix in this report.

Among metros smaller than America’s 100 largest, top performers for immigrant well-being, immigration rates, and domestic in-migration rates primarily consist of college towns, as we define them in the report. They also include a handful of metros with one high value-added, dominant employer or industry: Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, Arkansas (home to Walmart); Rochester, Minnesota (headquarters of the Mayo Clinic); and Midland, Texas (center of the West Texas oil and gas industry).

Immigrants making secondary moves within the United States mirror those of native-born people, except immigrants are more likely to choose metros focused on welcoming them. Leading destinations include Dallas-Fort Worth; Austin, Texas; San Antonio, Texas; Nashville, Tennessee; Knoxville, Tennessee; Charlotte, North Carolina; Tampa, Florida; Jacksonville, Florida; Northport-Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida; Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida; and Boise, Idaho.