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Ethnic Transformation in Rural California: Looking Beyond the Immigrant Farmworker
Author(s) -
Allensworth Elaine M.,
Rochín Refugio I.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
rural sociology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.083
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1549-0831
pISSN - 0036-0112
DOI - 10.1111/j.1549-0831.1998.tb00663.x
Subject(s) - ethnic group , immigration , socioeconomic status , san joaquin , geography , population , rural area , ethnically diverse , economic growth , demographic economics , political science , socioeconomics , demography , sociology , economics , environmental science , archaeology , soil science , law
Communities in rural California are becoming increasingly Latino. Using a quantitative database of 288 rural communities, together with qualitative data collected in the San Joaquin Valley, we examine the processes through which this ethnic transformation is occurring. Most studies have focused on Latino immigration as the cause of changing ethnic composition. We find that non‐Latino population growth, as well as Latino population growth, accounts for the relative differences in changing community ethnicity. Most important for explaining migration among Latinos are housing costs and year‐round job availability. Among white non‐Latinos, ethnic conflict and perceptions of community deterioration better explain migration decisions. As a result of these changes, places in rural California are becoming increasingly economically and ethnically differentiated.