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Migration - How It has Impacted the People of Massachusetts

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As of 2004, the state of Massachusetts had nearly 6.5 million residents, and approximately 881,000 of these were foreign-born inhabitants who migrated to the state. In many ways because of this immigration, the population of Massachusetts is made of a variety of racial and ancestral backgrounds. 81.99% of the people of Massachusetts are White, while Hispanics make up the largest minority group with 6.8%. 5.4% identify themselves as Black, 3.8% Asian, 2.3 mixed race, and 0.2% Native American. The five largest groups of ancestry of the people of Massachusetts are Irish (the state has one of the highest populations of those with Irish ancestry in the nation), Italian (Massachusetts also has one of the highest populations of Italians), English, French, and German. Other notable ancestries are Greek and Polish. There is also a small reservation of the Wampanoag Native American tribe located at Aquinnah and an unofficial reservation at Mashpee.

However, though many people move to Massachusetts each year - either from other states or other countries - there are also high numbers of people leaving the state - about 40,000 a year. Many young individuals arriving at a working age as well as migrants and professionals are leaving for New Hampshire, Florida, Texas, and other areas in the Midwest, Southeast and West. One of the major reasons that many of these people quote as their reason for leaving Massachusetts is the high housing cost (the state has the third most expensive market in the US). Other factors included the need for better jobs, taxes, the desire for a safer place to raise kids, traffic, and more. For the most part, these same individuals identify themselves as pleased with their relocation and announce that they enjoy a higher level of public courtesy in their new places of residence.

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