Urban Appalachians

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Urban Appalachians are people from or with close ancestral ties to Appalachia who are living in metropolitan areas outside of the region. Because migration has been occurring for decades, most are not first generation migrants from the region but are long-term city dwellers. People have been migrating from Appalachia to cities outside the region ever since many of these cities were founded. It was not until the period following World War II, however, that large-scale migration to urban areas became common due to the decline of coal mining and the increase in industrial jobs available in the Midwest and Northeast. The migration of Appalachians is often known as the Hillbilly Highway.

Most of the Appalachian migrants settled in industrial centers in the Midwest and Northeast, with Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Toledo, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and Pittsburgh being known for particularly large populations. Others moved to urban areas in the South, such as Atlanta and Louisville; other cities that have smaller but significant populations are Columbus, Fort Wayne, Lansing, Flint and Dayton.

In terms of national origin urban Appalachians reflect the varied heritage of the Appalachian region. They are predominately Scots-Irish, English, Scottish, Irish and Welsh. There were also large numbers of people with German, Central European, and Southern European ancestry, who were recruited to work in the coal and steel industries. A related phenomenon to the exodus of white Appalachians on the Hillbilly Highway is the Great Migration of black southerners, including some from Appalachia.

Urban Appalachians came from all areas of Appalachia. Many came from coal camp villages in the Cumberland Plateau or Allegheny Mountains; others came from cities such as Knoxville, Charleston, West Virginia, or the Huntington-Ashland area. Some of these migrants had come from rural areas to the cities before moving on. Most, however, came from rural areas or small towns.

During the period of the nation's industrial expansion, the majority worked in factories, particularly in the automotive industry. More recently, work in the service economy is becoming more predominant.^[1] The decline of industry in the Rust Belt starting in the 1970s had a negative effect on blue-collar workers of Appalachian backgrounds, and many returned home.

Despite the Appalachian migrants' having come from different states and backgrounds, their shared history and the common experience of living in the hills, towns, valleys or foothills of Appalachia gave them a sense of regional culture that some urban Appalachians celebrate today.