Migration and Geographic Distribution

If a survey asked respondents what they knew about the geographic distribution and migration patterns of older people in the United States, two observations would be frequently repeated. First, with respect to distribution, respondents would comment on the concentration of older people in Florida. Second, regarding migration, most would report something about retirement migration, with older people moving from the Snowbelt to the Sunbelt. While not incorrect, these responses are very imprecise and miss a great deal of what is interesting about these issues. In fact, there is widespread misunderstanding about which regions of the United States have the oldest populations and about how uncommon retirement migration really is.