Skip to main content
National Longitudinal Survey of Older and Young Men (NLSM)

Geographic Residence and Environmental Characteristics

A limited number of geographic variables are available for respondents in the Older and Young Men. Due to Census Bureau confidentiality concerns, such variables provide only broad geographical demarcations of the respondent's area of residence, e.g., the name of the Census division, whether the residence was located in the South or non-South, and whether the residence was in an SMSA. A series of comparison variables contrast the respondent's current state/SMSA of residence with those of his birthplace, previous residences, or current job. Specific information on the names of the county, state, or metropolitan statistical area(s) in which respondents reside at given points in time is not available. Finally, characteristics of the respondent's environment are available from several variables describing the size of the labor force and unemployment rate for the labor market of current residence.

Geographic variables that are not on the public-use files may be requested for any of the original cohorts. Proposals in which researchers request access to such variables are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. For more information, visit the Bureau of Labor Statistics website. Geographic variables are available for use at Census Data Centers.

Due to the fact that Census procedures for the geocoding of geographical boundaries were deliberately frozen in the mid-1970s, users are advised to be skeptical about all variables relating to location below the state level except those delineating movement between counties. For more information, see the important information note about older cohorts' geographic data below.

Geographic residence

Some of the primary sets of geographic variables available for Original Cohort respondents are described below. Table 1 summarizes the years for which each variable is available for each cohort.

Scroll right to view additional table columns.

Table 1. Created variables for Geographic Residence and Mobility by Survey Year
Key: OM = Older Men, YM = Young Men

Created Variables

66 67 68 69 70 71 73 75 76 78 80 81 83 90
Region of Residence (South/non-South) OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM YM OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM OM OM
Residence Comparison:

State, County

OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM YM OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM OM OM

SMSA

OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM YM OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM OM OM

Size of Labor Market

OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM YM OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM OM  

Residence in SMSA

OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM YM OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM OM  

Residence Status (Mover/Non-mover)

OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM YM OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM OM OM

Unemployment Rate for Labor Market

OM, YM OM, YM YM OM, YM YM OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM OM, YM OM  

Birthplace

Birthplace information for each Older and Young Men respondent is available that identifies the birthplace in relation to the respondent's permanent residence as of the initial survey year. Coding categories differ across cohorts but typically provide a comparison of the respondent's state/SMSA/region or division of current residence with that of the respondent's birthplace or identify the birthplace as outside of the United States. Birthplace information is also available for each respondent's mother, father, and maternal/paternal grandparents; coding categories include U.S. or Canada, Northern or Western Europe, Central or Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, Latin America, or other. The decision rules used to create a nationality variable for each respondent within the four Original Cohorts are discussed within the Race, Ethnicity, & Nationality section.

Region of residence (revised)

A series of variables are available for Older and Young Men respondents that indicate whether the location of the respondent's permanent address was "in the South" or "in [one of] the non-South" regions of the United States, e.g., the Northeast, North Central, or West. A listing of states constituting the various Census divisions is provided in each cohort's Codebook Supplement: Appendix 3 for the Older Men or Appendix 2 for the Young Men. The three divisions comprising the South include the South Atlantic Division, the East South Central Division, and the West South Central Division. Table 4.10.1 above depicts the survey years for which this variable is available. Users should note that two versions, revised and nonrevised, of the 'Region of Residence' variables are present. Revised versions should be used whenever available.

Census division of current residence

A series of variables are available for the early years of each cohort that identify the Census division, e.g., New England, Middle Atlantic, Mountain, Pacific, etc., of the respondent's permanent address. The cohort-specific appendices listed above under 'Region of Residence' contain a listing of the nine Census divisions and the states comprising each. This variable for respondents of the 1975 and 1976 Older Men surveys does not provide Census division information but rather the codes "lives in South" and "lives in non-South."

Residence—SMSA (SMSA status)

A series of revised variables are available for each cohort that identify whether the current residence of a respondent is in the central city of an SMSA, in the balance (not the central city) of an SMSA, or not in an SMSA. Table 1 above depicts the survey years for which this variable is available. Two versions of these variables are present within the Young Men data set: 'Current Residence in SMSA' and 'SMSA Status in (YR) (Revised).' Comparable variables for the Older Men data set are titled 'Current Residence in SMSA' and 'Current Residence in SMSA - Revised.' The revised version of these variables should be used for those survey years in which it is available. The important information note about older cohorts' geographic data section below discusses issues relating to the SMSA classification systems in use by Census.

Residence status (mover)

A series of revised variables are available which indicate whether a respondent has moved, i.e., reported a permanent address change, since the initial survey year. Residence in the first survey year is coded 1. Code 2 in a subsequent survey year indicates that the respondent has had an address change from the original residence and code 3 indicates that no move occurred. Table 1 above depicts the survey years for which this variable is available.

Comparisons of current residence withp revious state/county/SMSA

This set of variables, available for each survey year, does not provide information on the actual state, county, or SMSA of the respondent's current residence but rather codes movement of the respondent in relationship to the permanent address reported at the time of the first survey. The respondent's county, state, and SMSA each are coded 1 for the initial survey year. A code of 2 in a given survey year indicates that the respondent had moved to, for example, a different second county. A subsequent move in year 10 back to the 1966 county would again be coded 1. Appendix 5 in the Older Men Codebook Supplement and Appendix 21 in the Young Men Codebook Supplement provide a further explanation of this coding system along with a select listing of other geographic variables present through the mid-70s for that cohort. The SMSA comparison series was not included in the 1990 Older Men survey for reasons described in the important information note about older cohorts' geographic data below. However, two variables, 'Comparison of 90 Residence with Previous Residence (Movers Only),' that use a coding system similar to the residence/job comparison variables (see description below) were provided in the 1990 Older Men data set for those respondents or widows of respondents who had moved. Table 1 above depicts the survey years for which this variable is available.

Comparison of current residence and location of current job/second or retirement residence

A set of variables are present for select survey years of each cohort that compare each respondent's location of current residence with the location of his/her current (or last or longest) job. Coding categories include: same SMSA or county; different SMSA or county, same state; different state, same division; different division; abroad; or other. Several other comparison variables are present for respondents in the Older Men cohort. These include 'Comparison of XX Residence and Retirement Residence' for the 1981 and 1983 survey years and 'Comparison of Location of 2nd Residence and Current Residence 90.' The important information note about Older Cohorts' geographic data below include a discussion of issues affecting SMSA boundaries.

Second residence

In 1990, information was collected on whether an Older Men respondent resided in another residence during part of the year. Questions included the specific months of the year the respondent was in residence at that location and the year he first started spending time there.

Geographic mobility in retirement

The 1981, 1983, and 1990 surveys of Older Men collected information about residential moves. In 1981 and 1983, respondents who had ever moved since retirement were asked why they moved. In 1990, respondents who had not lived in their current city or county for their entire lives were asked when and why they moved to their current residence.

Type of property of residence

Present within the data set of each cohort is a single variable identifying whether the respondent's property in the original survey year was urban or a farm or non-farm residence with varying acreage and sales.

Type of area of residence

A single variable present for the first year of each cohort identifies whether the respondent lived in (1) an urbanized area of a certain size (over 3 million, under 250,000. etc.), (2) an urban place outside an urbanized area of varying population sizes, or (3) a rural area.

Environmental characteristics

Two sets of variables have been created that provide information on characteristics of the labor market in which a respondent resided. The geographical unit used to define "residence" for the revised versions of the following variables was the 1970 Primary Sampling Unit (PSU), a geographical sampling area made up of one or more contiguous counties or Minor Civil Divisions (MCD).

Residence—Size of labor force

A series of revised variables provide information from the 1970 Census of Population on the size of the labor force for the respondent's current residence. The revised variables are present for the 1966-83 Older Men surveys and all Young Men interviews. The variables based on data from the 1960 Census are present only through the mid-1970s.

Residence—Unemployment rate for labor market

Two series of variables provide data, drawn from the 1970 Census of Population and varying years of the Current Population Surveys, for the unemployment rate of the respondent's labor market of current residence. These variables are present for all Older Men surveys except 1968 and 1990 and for all Young Men interviews. Unemployment rates were calculated for each CPS PSU by summing the total number of unemployed for the 12-month period and dividing by the total number in the labor force. A combined unemployment rate was computed for PSUs in the same Special Labor Market Areas (combinations of two or more PSUs) and assigned to each PSU within the area. These rates were then collapsed further into broader categories.

Important information: Older cohorts' geographic data

The following paragraphs contain a discussion of issues affecting the availability and quality of geographic data for the Original Cohorts. Researchers are advised to read this information before using geographic variables in analyses.

The amount of geographic information that the Census Bureau has provided to CHRR has always been limited. This was, in part, the trade-off for the richness of data available in all other topical areas. Census felt that the detailed information available for each respondent in combination with the geographic location was sufficient, in some cases, to identify specific respondents. To protect respondent identities and fulfill the promise of anonymity, only gross geographic measures such as South/non-South, size of the labor force from the 1970 Census, and unemployment rate from the 1970 Census and current CPS are consistently released.

As data were analyzed based on respondents' permanent addresses, some peculiar and inconsistent results were observed. When specifications for the creation of these variables were checked, a problem with the type of address information utilized, permanent versus temporary, was uncovered. It was not clear in all cases exactly which address had been used by Census as the respondent's permanent address or which respondents had their original data based on address information from the screening as opposed to the first interview. As a result of these problems, the entire series of geographic variables were revised in the mid-1970s.

While in most instances the geographic information from the early surveys will be consistent with that in the revised series, there are sufficient instances when this will not be true. Thus, the revised series should be considered as replacing all earlier geographic information even though the unrevised information has been left on the data sets. Users will find the word "REVISED" appended to the variable titles of most of these variables; the custom of appending REVISED was continued after the mid-1970s revisions to alert users to the fact that the same methodology continued to be utilized to create subsequent years' variables. Notes that appear within the codeblock of the unrevised variables reference the appendix of the Codebook Supplement that describes the revised variables released at that point in time. It is strongly suggested that this new set of variables be used in any analysis that includes geographic mobility.

After Congress passed the Privacy Act of 1974, Census froze the definitions of NLS geographic variables in an attempt to carry out the spirit of the new law. SMSA codes assigned to the 'Residence - SMSA Status' variables were those in effect as of January 1, 1976 (Office of Management and the Budget). As time passed, these geographic variables became increasingly less useful since the information Census provided was based on definitions that did not correspond to current geographical definitions.

Due to the increasingly inaccurate boundaries and the limitations imposed by the Privacy Act, BLS and CHRR decided to restrict the set of variables that would be created to those that were known to be accurate. For the 1990 Older Men data, the following variables were no longer created: (1) 'Comparison of Current Residence with Previous SMSA,' (2) 'Residence - Size of Labor Force,' and (3) 'Residence - Unemployment Rate for Labor Market' (both Census and CPS versions). Characteristics of the respondent's local labor market were not released, nor were measures of the geographic proximity of the respondent's residence to the employer (except what can be approximated by length of travel). Also unavailable is information on whether the location of a respondent's employer is in an SMSA. Any variables reflecting SMSA status and related comparison variables were discontinued. Retained for continued release were (1) 'Residence Status (Mover),' a set of variables that had always been based on permanent address comparisons, and (2) three other variables based on definitions that had remained the same since the inception of the surveys (i.e., 'Region of Residence [Revised],' 'Comparison of Current Residence with Previous State,' and 'Comparison of Current Residence with Previous County'). These last two comparison variables never revealed the existing geographic location of the respondent, only his movement into and out of the state and/or county.

References

Adams, Avril and Nestel, Gilbert. "Interregional Migration, Education and Poverty in the Urban Ghetto: Another Look at Black-White Earnings Differentials." Review of Economics and Statistics 58,2 (May 1976): 156-66.

Bartel, Ann. "The Migration Decision: What Role Does Job Mobility Play?" American Economic Review 69,5 (December 1979): 775-86.

Maxwell, Nan. "Economic Returns to Migration: Marital Status and Gender Differences." Social Science Quarterly 68,1 (March 1988): 108-21.

Office of Management and the Budget. Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Revised Edition. Washington, DC: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 1975.

Pitcher, B., Stinner, W., and Toney, M. "Patterns of Migration Propensity for Black and White American Men: Evidence from a Cohort Analysis." Research on Aging 7,1 (March 1985): 94-120.

Reitzes, D. and Mutran, E. "Location and Well-Being among Retired Men." The Journals of Gerontology 46,4 (July 1991): S195-203.

Sandell, Steven. "Women and the Economics of Family Migration." Review of Economics and Statistics 59,4 (November 1977): 406-14.

Tremblay, Carol Horton. "The Impact of School and College Expenditures on the Wages of Southern and Non-Southern Workers." Journal of Labor Research 7,2 (Spring 1986): 201-11.

Survey Instruments & Documentation These geographic residence variables for the Older and Young Men were, for the most part, created by Census Bureau personnel from the permanent address information available for each respondent. Information on the birthplace of each respondent and of his parents and grandparents was collected during the initial survey year of each cohort; questions can be found in the "Family Background" section of the questionnaires. Information on the location of a current job used to construct the comparison of current residence with location of job was collected as part of the "Current Labor Force Status" sections of the questionnaire.