Majority Of US Prefers Communities With Big Houses, Even If Local Amenities Are Far

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Majority Of Americans Prefer A Community With Big Houses, Even If Local Amenities Are Farther Away


August 2, 2023

By Ted Van Green

Read More: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...ven-if-local-amenities-are-farther-away/

A majority of Americans (57%) say they would prefer to live in a community where “houses are larger and farther apart, but schools, stores and restaurants are several miles away,” according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted March 27-April 2, 2023. About four-in-ten (42%) would prefer a community where “houses are smaller and closer to each other, but schools, stores and restaurants are within walking distance.”

- The share of the public that prefers more spread-out communities is roughly similar to two years ago, when six-in-ten Americans said this. Public preferences were more evenly divided on this question in fall 2019, a few months before the coronavirus outbreak. As in the past, there are differences in these preferences by party, age, education, race and ethnicity, and community type. --- While a majority of adults ages 30 and older would prefer communities with larger homes over those with more walkability, adults under 30 are somewhat more likely to express the opposite preference.

- About three-quarters of Americans who describe their own communities as rural (74%) say they would prefer to live in places where houses are larger and farther apart, but also farther from schools, stores and restaurants. A narrower majority of suburban Americans (56%) also say they would prefer places with larger houses. --- In contrast, more Americans who currently live in urban areas (57%) say they would prefer a community with smaller houses that are within walking distance of schools, stores and restaurants. --- Among urban, suburban and rural residents, Republicans are much more likely than Democrats to want to live in communities where houses are larger and more spread out.

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