Current Population Survey data are used to estimate the effects of mig
ration of the poor and nonpoor on the spatial concentration of poverty
among five categories of counties defined by county poverty rates and
, separately, among nonmetropolitan high-poverty areas, central city h
igh-poverty areas, and other areas. During the 1981-1984 period studie
d, migration patterns of both the poor and nonpoor consistently reinfo
rced pre-existing poverty concentrations. High migration rates of the
poor into and out of high poverty counties suggests an equilibrium con
dition. Implications for theory, research, and policy are discussed.