Americans Favor Suburbs Post-Pandemic

The proportion of Americans preferring to live in cities declined from 23% to 19% between 2018 and 2021, according to the latest study by the Pew Research Center. In the same period the number of Americans preferring to live in the suburbs rose from 42% to 46%.

The pandemic has been particularly devastating in cities where 45% of urban residents say the economic impact of the outbreak is a major problem in their community compared to 31% in the suburbs.

“Black and Hispanic Americans are more likely than White or Asian Americans to say the pandemic’s economic impact is a major problem where they live, and Black adults are more likely than other racial or ethnic groups to say this about the health impact,” note the reports authors.

In general 47% of Americans say the pandemic has divided their communities and only 13% think it has brought people together. The availability of affordable housing is a major problem where they live for 49% of US adults up from 39% in 2018.

“When asked about their own lives, about a third of adults say it will take more than two years for their life to return to how it was before the pandemic or that it will never be the same again,” note the reports authors.

By Staff