Study: Immigrants in the hinterlands

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Immigrants living in small urban centres and in rural areas tend to achieve economic integration much faster than immigrants living in large urban areas, according to a new study.

The study, published today in Perspectives on Labour and Income, shows that the income gap between immigrants and Canadians living in similar areas closed faster over time in smaller centres and rural areas than in large cities.

In very large urban areas, the initial income gap was 37%; after four years, the gap was 22%. In the 12th year, it fell below 10%.

In contrast, in small urban areas the initial gap was only 14%, and in the fourth year, immigrants were earning 2% more than Canadians. This relative advantage increased over time, reaching a peak of 18% during the 11th year.

The income advantage of immigrants was even more pronounced in small towns and rural areas, where the average income of immigrants was 4% higher than that of Canadians after only one year of permanent residence.

Immigrants remained less likely to settle in small urban centres, with 75% of immigrants choosing to live in Toronto, Montréal and Vancouver (compared with 34% of the general population) and less than 3% settling in a small town or rural area (compared with 22% of the general population).

The income gap was widest upon an immigrant's arrival. It declined over time as individuals overcame such hurdles as lack of ability in official languages, unrecognized foreign qualifications, and lack of information on labour market requirements and employment opportunities. On average, however, immigrants living in large urban centres experienced a slow decline in this income gap.

More vulnerable immigrant groups such as refugees, immigrants with no prior ability in an official language or immigrants with no more than a high school education also experienced more rapid economic integration in small urban centres and rural areas.

Although refugees represented only 5% of immigrants in small towns and rural areas, they integrated very rapidly—so rapidly that, after only one year, their incomes were 10% greater than those of Canadians living in the same type of area.

In contrast, refugees in very large urban areas earned 43% less and, after 13 years of residence, the gap was about 20%.

Only immigrants from the United States (and to a lesser degree from Oceania) integrated more quickly in larger centres than in smaller ones. All other immigrants, especially those from Asia, integrated more rapidly (in economic terms) in smaller cities.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey numbers, including related surveys, 4107 and 5057.

The article "Immigrants in the hinterlands" is now available in the January 2008 online edition of Perspectives on Labour and Income, vol. 9, no. 1 (75-001-XWE, free), from the Publications module of our website.

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this article, contact André Bernard (613-951-4660; andr.bernard@statcan.gc.ca), Labour and Household Surveys Analysis Division.