The Psychology of Staying Put: Why Mobility in the U.S. Has Been Declining for Decades

Do you think that, over time, the U.S. has become an increasingly mobile nation? Is it your sense that people pick up and leave far more often than they did in the past? That’s part of our conventional wisdom, propped up by declarations in prestigious newspapers, scholarly journals, and popular culture. Remember those Carole King lyrics? “So far away / Doesn’t anyone stay in one place anymore?”  There is one big problem with our belief that mobility in the U.S. has been increasing: It is exactly wrong. Sociologist Claude Fischer has shown that American mobility has been declining for well over a century. Because of improvements in data collection, evidence is clearest for the past 70 years.  The Decline in American Mobility Currently, only about 10 percent of Americans — or even fewer — change homes in any given year. Twenty years ago, in the year 2000, about 15 percent moved. Twenty years before that, in 1980, under 18 percent changed homes. And in 1950, about 20 percent of Americans moved — about twice as many as today.  What’s more, when people move, it is usually not very far. Scrutinizing data from the past 35 years, geography professor Thomas Cooke found that most people who move stay within the same county, fewer move to a different county within the same state, and fewer still move to a different state. In 2019, only 1.5% of Americans moved to a different state.  Why Are More Americans Staying Put Instead of Moving? There are many reaso...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Psychology Cohabitation Hometown Moving Source Type: blogs