Do politics influence where you want to live? 1 in 4 Americans say yes in survey
FILE - Signs showing support for both Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump sit along a rural highway on Sept. 26, 2024, near Traverse City, Michigan. (Photo
With the 2024 presidential election just weeks away, politics are top of mind for many Americans – and as it turns out, such topics can have an influence on where people choose to call home.
In fact, nearly one-quarter (23%) of those who participated in a new survey by Realtor.com said local and national politics factor into their moving decisions.
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The survey, conducted in mid-September, found that roughly 4 in 10 Americans said that their political views align with the majority of people where they live. Nearly 1 in 5 Americans in the survey said they had considered moving due to a lack of local political alignment.
Predictably, the more engaged the voter, the more politics have an influence on where they live, according to the survey.
Roughly 50% of self-identified "frequent" voters felt politically-aligned with people in their area, the survey found. This was the case for just 30% of occasional voters and 18% of inactive voters.
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Liberal voters place more importance on politics
When it comes to political affiliations, liberal voters were found to be slightly more likely to find politics important when choosing where to put roots.
About 1 in 3 of liberal voters said national politics are influential in choosing where to live, versus 27% of conservative voters and 18% of moderate voters, according to the survey.
Roughly 34% of liberal voters said they find it important to live in an area where most people share the same political views, compared with 27% of conservatives and 15% of moderates.
Survey: Millennials care most about politics in the neighborhood
The survey also found differences based on generations. Millennial voters placed the most importance on national and local politics when considering where to live, according to the survey.
"Many millennials are in the season of life where they are thinking more seriously about buying a home and putting down roots for the long haul," Realtor.com noted.
"While Gen Z is perceived to be more politically active, the younger generation may not be particularly concerned with or tied to local political views in the same way," it added.
A third of millennials cited that their decision about where to live is "highly influenced" by national politics, compared to 25% of Gen Z, 21% of Gen X, and just 16% of baby boomers.
Similarly, about 1 in 3 (32%) of millennials said it was "very" or "extremely" important to live in a place where most people share their political views, compared with Gen X (23%), Gen Z (22%), and baby boomers (16%), the survey found.