CITIES WERE A MISTAKE:

Survey data collected by the Survey Center on American Life throughout the COVID-19 pandemic reveal that those big cities -- despite the values of propinquity, density, and scale -- are simply not where most Americans want to reside. Even younger generations of Americans -- those who traditionally flocked to big cities for careers, social lives, and cultural amenities -- actually show greater interest in suburban living than dense city living.

Indeed, after being homebound for many months due to the pandemic, more Americans now express a desire for personal space than ever before. The majority of Americans today are willing to sacrifice easy access to amenities to have more space to themselves and distance from their neighbors, and city life is simply not where those desires are realized. Perhaps driven by idealized visions of rural life -- small, tight-knit communities that move at a more leisurely pace -- many Americans express a preference for small-town life. Roughly four in 10 Americans say they would prefer living in a town (15 percent) or rural area (27 percent). In contrast, only 9 percent say they would prefer to live in a large city. More Americans now state that they would prefer living in a small city (16 percent), while one in three Americans prefer the suburbs (33 percent).

Unsurprisingly, the cities that have recovered fastest from COVID-19 -- Denver, Charlotte, Nashville, and Dallas -- are themselves overwhelmingly suburban. And these realities fit well with the data from a Los Angeles Times/Reality Check Insights national poll, which was taken after the November 2020 election in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Los Angeles Times poll found that when residents of big cities were asked about the ideal setting of their next home, a majority of big city dwellers said something other than their current situation. Just 44 percent would pick a big city once again, with significant numbers preferring a small city (9 percent), rural areas and towns (17 percent), or the suburbs (25 percent). Small cities did not fare much better either; only 38 percent of small city dwellers claim that their ideal location is another small city.

The survey also directly asked respondents whether they would move away from their current community if they could, and Americans who live in big cities are the most likely to strongly state that they want to leave for somewhere else. Thirty-two percent of big city dwellers state that they would definitely move away from big cities if they could; this is notably greater than the quarter of those who live in suburbs of big cities and small cities who feel the same way, as well as under a fifth of all residents in suburbs of small cities (17 percent), rural areas (18 percent), and small towns (17 percent).

Cities are not where the hearts and minds of Americans are, and the census data on mobility reflects this reality to the surprise of many. 

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