Research on the social stratification of rural-to-urban migrants in China and paths to the granting of urban residency

Today, China has roughly 260 million rural-to-urban migrants, and most are young working-age people. The improving socioeconomic status of these migrants and structural optimization of their living conditions in urban inflow areas contribute significantly to China's economic development Using data from the China Migrants Dynamic Survey in 2018, this paper conducts an exploratory factor analysis and establishes a three-dimensional stratification framework and a standardized socioeconomic index for rural-to-urban migrants. Graphically, the social stratification of migrants shows an "onion-shaped" structure with a low gravity center and two ends that taper off. Class differentiation among rural-to-urban migrants is apparent. A blue-collar group, positioned in the lower middle part of the stratification scheme, account for 70% of the population. This paper presents a horizontal comparison of the socioeconomic situations of rural-to-urban with urban-to-urban migrants and finds the latter have a more advanced social structure. Education may be the most fundamental reason for stratification differences. The social structure of rural-to-urban migrants improved significantly during the years 2012 to 2018. However, the primary gains accrued to elite and professional groups while the proportion to the total size of the migrant population of the disadvantaged group at the bottom of the social structure remained nearly the same. This change in social structure suggests that some blue-collar migrants, especially skilled workers, moved upward into the professional group; however, migrants at the bottom of the structure without adequate education and lacking vocational skills hardly moved upward. Thus, this paper proposes investing more in rural education to help effectively implement policies to address this problem.