Twenty-three percent of American adults say that local and national politics are a large influence on where they decide to live, according to a recent survey conducted by Santa Clara, California-based listing service Realtor.com.
When asked about their most recent move, 14% of respondents said they had moved to an area where their neighbors’ political views aligned more closely with their own, as opposed to the 8% who said the opposite. Nearly one in five — 17% — have considered moving away from their current location because their political views don’t align with those of most people in that area.
"With both local and national politicians making decisions that impact daily life, both socially and fiscally, it makes sense that many would prefer to live in areas where the politics align with their own beliefs,” Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com, said in the news release. Some go so far as to consider moving to find that alignment."
This holds especially true for millennials, compared to every other demographic. One-third of respondents in this age group said politics were highly influential on where they decided to live — ahead of Generation Z at 25%, Generation X at 21% and baby boomers at 16%.
Thirty-two percent of millennials say it is very or extremely important for them to live somewhere where most people share their political views. Twenty-eight percent said they have considered moving because their views do not align with those of others in their area.
Gen Z is the runner up on both of these questions at 23% and 20%, respectively.
"While Gen Z is known for being very politically active, when it comes to making decisions about where to live, more millennials are likely to be in a phase of life where they are thinking about the type of community in which they want to buy a home and grow their roots," said Hannah Jones, senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com, in the release. "It makes sense that millennials, more than any other age group, think it is very important to live in a place in which most people share their political views."
Politics are a point of focus for renters this fall as a very contentious presidential election draws near. Seven out of ten adults say that the election is a major source of stress for them this year, according to a report from the American Psychological Association — more so than healthcare or the economy. Sixty-two percent are concerned about politics as a whole.
Almost half of respondents to the Realtor.com survey who identified themselves as frequent voters felt their political views align with the majority of people where they live, and 31% considered it an important factor in their living decisions.
Compared to the general population, respondents that identified as liberal were more likely to consider politics when making decisions about where to live. About 30% said national politics were an influence on where they decided to live, and 34% said it was extremely or very important to live in a place where most people shared their political views, compared to 27% of conservatives and 15% of moderates.
Realtor.com conducted the survey online between Sept. 13-14 with 2,203 respondents ages 18 and over.
