A study was conducted to examine two related questions concerning aged return migration: first, which features are common to states that are able to attract a high proportion of their migration-prone native sons and daughters; and second, what might account for the differences, if any, in the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of return and non-return migrants. Individual characteristics of persons age 60 and over from the 1970 1-in-100 Public Use Sample of Basic Records were analyzed. Distribution patterns revealed that the sun belt states, as a whole, disproportionately attract return migrants; states drawing heavy shares of both types are coastal, except for Arizona. By employing discriminant function analysis and tests for differences of means of migrant characteristics, it was found that return migration is negatively selective. This may be accounted for, in part, by the moves of some inmigrants to attractive destination states followed later by a secondary move to their states of birth when their service and social support needs increase. This model was indirectly tested on streams and counter-streams and the findings were consistent with the model. (Author)