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Daily Real Estate News | October 1, 2008 | Where the Melting Pot Has Frozen
The U.S. continues to be a nation of immigrants, but the heartland cities that were destinations for immigrants in the 20th century are no longer attractive to today’s newcomers.

About 1.6 million foreign-born people settle in the U.S. each year. According to the U.S. Census, some metro areas that once served as magnets for immigrants, like Pittsburgh and Milwaukee, are now less appealing. The main reason boils down to job availability.

The lack of jobs is a key factor, but there are other issues. Immigrants follow each other, so cities that have few immigrants are unlikely to get more. Plus, most immigrants are in their 20s and want to be in the major urban areas where they believe the action is. Most of the cities with low immigrant populations are in the Midwest or mid-South, far from the trend-setters on either coast. And older immigrants on those locales are often too far removed from the interests of today's younger transplants to act as a lure.

Here are the top-10 cities with the lowest number of foreign-born residents as of 2007, according to a Forbes magazine survey: