Rapid urbanization and rural-to-urban migration in developing societies have profoundly reshaped migrants’ cultural identity; yet this dimension remains under-examined in conventional urban planning, particularly in intermediate Iranian cities. This study investigates the reconfiguration of cultural identity among rural migrants in Dezful County, Khuzestan Province, using a sequential exploratory mixed-methods design. In the qualitative phase, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 key informants through purposive and snowball sampling and analyzed via thematic coding. Duration of urban residence was also identified as a key contextual/modifying variable. In the quantitative phase, a 27-item questionnaire was developed based on the qualitative findings and administered to 384 rural-to-urban migrants. Data were analyzed using correlation, regression, analysis of variance, and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Results revealed that attitudes toward urban values exerted the strongest direct effect on hybrid cultural identity (β = 0.412), followed by duration of urban residence (β = 0.314) and language/dialect change (β = 0.229). Other dimensions mainly played mediating and moderating roles. The final model explained 67.3% of the variance in cultural identity (R² = 0.673), with satisfactory fit and reliability indices (GOF = 0.532; Cronbach’s α = 0.89; AVE = 0.72; CR = 0.83). The findings indicate that cultural identity is neither fully preserved nor completely eroded but is reconstructed as a hybrid form through ongoing negotiation between origin and destination values. Accordingly, integrating cultural and identity dimensions into , and adopting identity-sensitive spatial and policy interventions, is essential for reducing cultural fragmentation and enhancing social cohesion.