Increasing Black Outmigration from Los Angeles: The Role of Household Dynamics and Kinship Systems

Abstract We analyze relationships between migration and household structure through an examination of the outmigration component of the metropolitan Los Angeles black migration system. Using data from the 1980 U.S. Census Public Use Microdata Samples, which allow direct observation of both individuals and the households in which they live, we identify spatial patterns of outmigration, link those patterns to longer-term black population redistribution processes affecting Los Angeles, explicate the links between kinship and household factors and the evolving spatial patterns of migration, analyze the extent to which household change accompanies migration, and identify the range of household situations in which Los Angeles outmigrants find themselves, specifically the role of household factors in the migration process. The spatial patterns of outmigration from Los Angeles varied significantly according to migrant and household type. Primary and repeat migrants participated in an independent migrant system, establishing intact traditional households in metropolitan spillover communities. The returnees participated in either of two migration systems: a bipolar system focusing primarily on the heartland (five south-central states), the region which historically supplied the largest number of migrants to Los Angeles, or a polygonal system, characterized by returnees joining nonmigrants and migrants from other states in Midwestern households. Kinship systems were especially important in the destination selection decisions of single and divorced, separated, or widowed women with children. Return migrants were most likely to experience household composition change with migration. These findings explicate the nature and complexity of the outmigration process and underscore the need for future models of migration to explicitly incorporate household dynamics.