Where you from?

Why do Hampton Roads and Northern VA seem so different from the rest of Virginia?  At the macro level, it's pretty obvious - the influence of the Federal government in DC and the military in Hampton Roads.  But it's even more obvious on this map, which shows the percentage of the population born in Virginia.  Blue means born here, red means born elsewhere:

Percentages are high in Hampton Roads - especially around military bases.  But almost the entire northern Virginia metro area is in the red.  Fewer than 30% of NoVA residents in most areas were born in Virginia.

Here's another map showing the percentage of the population born outside the U.S.  See the Weldon Cooper Center's post on immigration for more on this subject.

A few quick regressions on excel shows a pretty strong link between places that have more bachelor's degrees, more people born outside VA, and a higher income.  It's not a particularly new revelation - the more education and earning power a person acquires, the more geographically mobile they become.