Who Moves to America’s Fast-Growing Exurban Communities, and How Do Households Fare?

Exurban communities on the fringes of America’s largest urban areas are a key source of affordable homeownership opportunities in these regions, but are located far away from good paying jobs. They are also the fastest growing parts of most major cities. Nonetheless, research shows very little about who is moving to these places, and how locating in an exurb impacts people’s outcomes. This project will fill these gaps through three inter-related papers. The first paper will look at selection into the exurbs – who is moving to exurban communities, and how has this changed over the last 50 years. Second, how does relocating into (or out of) an exurb change adults’ outcomes. In the short term the research team will look at the tradeoffs households make among commuting, housing costs, and income, while the long-term analysis will add wealth and debt as key considerations. Finally, this project will examine how moving to the exurbs impacts children’s outcomes. This will entail both short-term analysis of changes in their time use (e.g. how does moving to an exurb change the time they spend studying, playing outside, watching TV) as well as long-term analysis of their outcomes in adulthood (e.g. income, education).