Preference for cities has declined, while a growing share now favors suburbs

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December 9, 2021

Americans Are Less Likely Than Before COVID-19 To Want To Live in Cities, More Likely To Prefer Suburbs

Preference for cities has declined, while a growing share now favors suburbs

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Preference for cities has declined, while a growing share now favors suburbs

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Americans Are Less Likely Than Before COVID-19 To Want To Live in Cities, More Likely To Prefer Suburbs
Nearly half of Americans say the pandemic has divided their community
Views of the pandemic’s economic and health impacts on local communities differ by race and ethnicity
Ongoing impact of the pandemic felt more acutely in urban areas
About one-in-five Americans say life in their community will never return to how it was before the pandemic
Lower-income adults more likely to say it will take longer for their local economy to recover
Public says pandemic divided the country but not necessarily their community
For many Americans, there’s a mix of views in their community on key approaches for mitigating COVID-19
Views on how fellow community members feel about mask wearing differ by community type and party
Most Republicans say there’s a mix of views on COVID-19 vaccines where they live
In communities with fewer recent COVID-19 deaths, support for vaccines and masks is more widespread
About four-in-ten Americans give the federal government poor or very poor ratings for its COVID-19 response
About half of Americans say availability of affordable housing is a major problem in their area
Lower-income adults more likely than those with higher incomes to see major problems in their community
A growing share of urban dwellers say they would move if they could
The share of Americans who would prefer to live in a city has dropped, while a growing share prefers the suburbs
Community type preferences vary by race and ethnicity, age and partisanship
For the most part, what Americans are looking for in a community has not changed since 2018
About three-in-ten Americans live within an hour’s drive of all or most of their extended family
American Trends Panel recruitment surveys
Invitation and reminder dates
Weighting dimensions
Final dispositions

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ABOUT PEW RESEARCH CENTER Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts.

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