Terrorism and Residential Preferences: Evidence in New York State

This paper uses 2004 polling data for New York State residents to examine the relationship between attitudes about terrorism threats, in the aftermath of 9/11, and residential preferences. The analysis shows that, risk aversion notwithstanding, the percentage of people planning to move because of added risks of terrorism was low but proximity to the New York City core increases this impulse slightly. The status quo is pronounced. People weigh flight against the solidarity and security of established social networks and opt to take their chances with the latter. Despite a widely reported consensus that further terrorist attacks are coming, our findings reinforce the conclusion that this is a relatively small consideration in residential location decisions. Connections between threat awareness and location are strongest in Upstate New York urban places. In rural upstate New York, arguably communities with least perceived threat, terrorism seems to have fortified residents’ tendencies to stay put.