Determinants of Interstate Migration: Differences Between Elderly and Nonelderly Movers

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Abstract
This paper analyzes the determinants of interstate inmigration and outmigration for persons aged 5 to 54 and for persons aged 55 and over. The paper finds several similarities between the sets of migration determinants, but several potentially important differences emerge as well. Perhaps most striking among these are that states with high earnings of workers tend to have high rates of outmigration of elderly adults and that states with high levels of unemployment have high levels of inmigration of elderly people — these relationships are generally the opposite of those found for the nonelderly. This suggests the possibility of continued divergence in the spatial distribution of younger and older populations and offers the potential for the continued reallocation of resources between states (through the federal government) to pay for programs earmarked for the older population.