Asian and Hispanic Settlement Patterns in the Counties of North Carolina, 2000

Abstract

The Southeastern United States has received numerous Asian and Hispanic migrants since the 1980s. This paper examines the distribution of six Asian and Hispanic ethnic groups in North Carolina counties in 2000. Aggregate data at the national level pertaining to the educational attainment of each of the ethnic groups is used to provide insight about why certain ethnic groups are attracted to certain North Carolina counties. Asian groups were over-concentrated in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill and Charlotte metropolitan areas in comparison to their Hispanic counterparts. In these metropolitan areas are found the largest of North Carolina’s universities, which attract many Asian students and provide the largest numbers of professional employment opportunities. Given that Asians have much higher educational levels than their Hispanic counterparts, it is not surprising that they are over-concentrated in the Raleigh and Charlotte Areas. The distribution of Mexicans and Central Americans was more dispersed throughout North Carolina because of the employment opportunities provided by the agricultural and meat-processing industries available to these groups. Puerto Ricans have long used the military as a vehicle to upward mobility and explains the over-concentration of this group in counties with a military base.