Civil Rights and Labor History Consortium / University of Washington

Mapping the Southern Diaspora

by James Gregory

For as long as there has been something called the American South, southerners in significant numbers have been leaving. But in the 20th century, migration rates exploded. An estimated 28 million Black, White, Latino, Asian, and Native American southerners joined a Southern Diaspora that lasted into the 1970s. The Great Migration of African Americans was the most consequential segment of the Diaspora, but numerically migrating Whites (more than 20 million) outnumbered the 7-8 million Black southerners who left during the 20th century. They were joined by nearly 1 million Latinx, mostly Tejanos, who moved west to California and north into the Midwest. Here are interactive maps and charts that show various dimensions of the great migrations out of the South. They show decade by decade the number of southerners living in northern and western states. Select a state of origin and see where people went. Or select a state of residence and see the states of origin. Filter or compare by racial categories. The maps are hosted by Tableau Public. If slow, refresh the page.

Move between six maps and tables by selecting tabs below

Source: These maps are based on research published in James N. Gregory, The Southern Diaspora: How the Great Migrations of Black and White Southerners Transformed America (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2005). 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.

Additional maps and charts