Chester County Migration Flows

Chester County Migration Flows, 2006-2010

Migration is an important factor for the growth or decline of an area. Population gain due to in-migration is a positive sign for a community. People move in because of positive attributes, such as jobs, schools, and quality of life features. People may move out because they are attracted to another area for some reason, such as a job, family ties, or physical features of the area. They may also leave for negative factors in their present area, such as a lack of job opportunities or suitable housing. This may indicate problems for an area to address.

This report considers only domestic migration, which is the number of people that move between Chester County and other counties in Pennsylvania or other states. It excludes moves within Chester County and international migration to or from areas outside the United States.

The data for this report were produced by the U.S. Census Bureau from the American Community Survey showing how many people migrated from one specific county to another during the course of a year. The question in the survey asks people where they lived one year prior to being surveyed. The estimates in this report come from surveys completed from 2006 through 2010.

Footnote: The Planning Commission prepared a similar migration report following the 2000 Census. That census asked where respondents lived five years ago instead of one year ago in the American Community Survey. Partly due to this difference in the questions, the number of migrants is higher in the earlier report and the data cannot be directly compared. However, it does appear that the general pattern of migration flows remains similar to the previous report. The highest migration flows are between Chester County and nearby counties.

Key Highlights

• Chester County had an overall gain in residents due to migration.
• The gain was due to in-migration from states other than Pennsylvania.
• Chester County had a net out-migration with other counties within Pennsylvania.
• Most migration occurred between Chester County and adjacent counties.

Definition of Terms

Migration: Moves that cross the Chester County boundary.

• In-migration: Migration into Chester County
• Out-migration: Migration out of Chester County
• Gross Migration: The sum of in-migration and out-migration. The total amount of movement into and out of Chester County.
• Net Migration: The difference between in-migration and out-migration. A positive net migration indicates more people entered Chester County than left it. A negative net migration indicates more people left Chester County than entered it.

Overview of Chester County Migration Flows

Figure 1: Total Domestic Migration to or from Chester County, 2006-2010

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-year estimates

Observations

• Gross migration shows that among all people that moved to or from Chester County, 57 percent involved moves within Pennsylvania and 43 percent involved moves to or from other states.
• Net migration shows the number of people that moved into Chester County exceeded those moving out of the county.
• Net migration gain in Chester County was due to people moving in from other states. More people moved into the county from other states than those leaving to go to other states.
• Within Pennsylvania the number of people that moved out of Chester County to other counties exceeded the number moving into Chester County from other counties.

Interstate Migration

This section provides information about interstate migration flows between Chester County and states other than Pennsylvania. The District of Columbia is included.

Figure 2: Interstate gross migration

Observations

• The majority of migration was between Chester County and nearby states.
• New Jersey and Delaware were the states with the largest gross migration flows with Chester County. Each state had over 3,000 migrants moving to or from Chester County.
• Another five states (California, Florida, Virginia, New York, and Maryland) had more than 1,000 migrants moving to or from Chester County. All except California are on the east coast.
• Four states (Texas, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Illinois) had migration flows between 500 and 1,000 people with Chester County.

Figure 3: Interstate Migration, 2006-2010

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-year estimates

Net migration provides an indication of states that Chester County gained residents from and states Chester County lost residents to. The net migration numbers are very low. The number of in-migrants and out-migrants for each state largely offset each other.

Observations

• Chester County had an overall net in-migration from other states.
• The county gained the most net in-migration from New Jersey, over 1,000 new residents.
• Between 300 and 500 residents were gained from New York, California, Illinois and Delaware.
• Chester County had net out-migration exceeding 300 people to only Virginia, and exceeding 200 people to only North Carolina and South Carolina.

County Level Migration

Figure 4 and Figure 5 present information on gross migration between Chester County and other counties in the United States. Figure 6 presents information on net migration for the counties.

Figure 4: County to County Gross Migration Map

Observations

• Migration to and from Chester County with other counties in the United States indicates most moves were short distance moves. The regional map (Figure 4) shows 22 of the 26 counties with the highest migration flows. The other four counties, located farther away, were in large metropolitan areas: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and Tampa-St. Petersburg.
• Chester County had gross migration exceeding 500 people with only eleven counties. All of these counties were located in Pennsylvania and Delaware.

Figure 5: Chester County Gross Migration Flows with other U. S. Counties, 2006-2010

*counties with over 250 gross migration flows
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-year estimates

Net migration between Chester County and other counties identifies where Chester County gained residents from and where residents moved to.

Figure 6: Chester County Net Migration Flows with other U. S. Counties, 2006-2010

*counties with over +200 or -200 net migration flows
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-year estimates

Observations

• Net in-migration population gains were highest from adjacent Delaware and Montgomery counties east of Chester County.
• A relatively large number of net in-migrants moved in from New Castle County directly south of Chester County.
• The survey identified some in-migration from the San Francisco, Chicago, and Tampa Bay areas.
• The largest loss of residents due to net out-migration was westward to Lancaster County and to Clearfield and Centre counties in central Pennsylvania. The Centre County migration was likely related to Penn State University.
• Smaller amounts of out-migration were to adjacent Berks County, Cumberland County west of Harrisburg, and the Pittsburgh area.
• The survey identified some out-migration to the Austin, Texas area.

Pennsylvania

Figure 7: Chester County Migration Flows within Pennsylvania, 2006-2010

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-year estimates