This is part 2 of the sequence on The Dust Bowl Migration to California. Start with the introductory essay and photographs. Below are interactive maps and charts that show various dimensions of the Dust Bowl Migration to California and the West. The first shows the number of migrants who settled in California between 1935 and 1940. Another shows county by county where the migrants settled. The maps are hosted by Tableau Public. If slow, refresh the page. .
Source: These maps are based on research first published in James N. Gregory, American Exodus: The Dustbowl Migration and Okie Culture in California. The U.S. Census data is from the Minnesota Population Center's IPUMS USA: Steven Ruggles, Katie Genadek, Ronald Goeken, Josiah Grover, and Matthew Sobek. Integrated Public Use Microdata Series: Version 6.0 [Machine-readable database]. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 2015, the following samples: 1900 1%, 1910 1%, 1920 1%, 1930 1%, 1940 1%, 1950 1%, 1960 1%, 1970 1% Metro FM1, 1980 1% Metro, 1990 1%, 2000 1%.
Maps and calculations: James Gregory.
Click to see map and charts The Southern DiasporaThe Dustbowl migration was part of a larger and longer sequence of migration out of the American South. In this section we explore the history of outmigration to North and West (including California) by 28 million southerners over the course of the 20th century. Six maps and charts compare the migration patterns of all southerners: Asians, Blacks, Latinos, Natives, Whites.
Upwards of 7 million African Americans left the South during the 20th century, settling mostly in the big cities of the North and West. In doing so they transformed more than their own lives. This Great Migration transformed cities and set the foundations for reconstructions of race, politics, and even the regional balances of the nation. This section includes six interactive maps and charts.
An estimated 28 million Black, White, Latino, Asian, and Native American southerners left the region in the 20th century, joining in the great migrations we call the Southern Diaspora. Many, especially Black migrants, settled in the big cities of the North and West. This page accompanies the main pages of the Southern Diaspora section. These interactive maps and charts show decade by decade the number of southerners living in northern and western metropolitan areas (central cities and surrounding country). Filter by racial categories.
Here are charts and tables showing who moved to each state and who left each state. Using birthplace information, we track decade-by-decade the population origins of California, Florida, Texas, Illinois, New York, Hawaii, and every other state, showing countries of birth and states of birth. Secondly, we show where people from each state settled, how many stayed and how many left.