Internal Migration and Mortality in the United Statess

Internal migration, a critical yet understudied aspect of population mobility, has significant implications for disparities in health and longevity. Despite the fact that the United States has more internal migrants than international migrants and that internal migration is a fundamental feature of American culture and economy, there is a lack of knowledge about how internal migration relates to mortality outcomes in the United States. In this talk, I will present findings from our study that addresses this crucial gap using over 12 million Social Security Administration death records for individuals born between 1912 and 1930. I will show how mortality differs by intercounty migration experience, and discuss the roles of selection, place effects, mobility effects, and age at migration in shaping the migrant-nonmigrant mortality differences. Our research not only contributes to the broader literature on migration and health but also sheds new light on the important role of internal migration in explaining geographic disparities in mortality.