Homeownership and Residential Overcrowding of Immigrant Migrants: Southern California as a Stepping Stone for Assimilation?

Zhou Yu, University of Utah

New immigrants continue to flock to Southern California and gradually replace settled immigrants who migrate to other parts of the United States. Although migration is integral to immigrant assimilation, little work has been done. This paper examines the housing outcomes of immigrant migrants. Overall, when immigrants migrate away from Southern California, they not only have higher homeownership rates and lower overcrowding than immigrants who recently moved to the region, but also reduce the housing deficit relative to native-born, non-Hispanic white migrants. Latinos see the largest advancement. While immigrants improve housing outcomes in tandem with their higher English proficiency and longer U.S. residence, the two housing measures yield contrasting results. Immigrants experience a rapid increase in homeownership, but not a significant reduction in overcrowding. Migration, which leads to better housing outcomes for immigrants, is a stepping stone for assimilation. Economic integration seems to progress faster than social adaptation.