One of the most common assumptions about the background of relocators is that they are likely to be better-educated than Americans who do not choose to relocate. The assumption seems based on a belief that college-educated people are more likely to be aware of relocation opportunities, more open to relocation psychologically, and have the money to relocate.

This ignores the impact of the Internet of the last decade or two, as well as the many Americans of all backgrounds who visit Mexico, Central America, Panama and the Caribbean for relatively inexpensive vacations and, in the process, develop a very different attitude about foreign nations and the possibilities of living in one.

Whatever the reason for the assumption, the chart above clearly shows that there is no statistically significant difference at all between the two groups in planning to relocate. Data is not shown for 2007 as is true elsewhere at the site because this question was not included in the 2007 survey.

Let’s take a look at this variable among those “interested”, seriously or somewhat seriously, in relocation.

Here we see that college graduates were more likely to be interested in relocation in 2009, but that difference has disappeared in 2011.

This is one of the variables that indicates the growing impact of the middle class on relocation. Perhaps the upper and upper-middle classes dominated relocation in the 20th century (although we have no valid data from that century), but if so, it is no longer the case.