A recent Chicago Tribune survey found that many black residents who recently left Chicago cited concerns for their safety. But William Frey says this alone can’t explain Cook County’s 12,000 loss in black residents over the past year. “Something bigger’s going on,” he says. He believes black migration to the south, in particular, occurs for a combination of economic and cultural factors, including the perception of more jobs, a lower cost of living, reconnection with family roots, and more opportunities for networking.

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