Predicting Mobility: Who Is Forced to Move?

Abstract

We use the 2013 American Housing Survey to examine which households are more likely to experience a forced move compared to a voluntary move. We examine how household vulnerability varies by racial and socioeconomic stratification, as well as other household demographics among homeowners and renters. We analyze household-level predictors of experiencing an inclusively defined forced move, including moves caused by disasters, private and government displacement, and eviction (for renters) or foreclosure (for homeowners). Comparing an inclusive definition of displacement to voluntary mobility, we find that lower levels of education, income, and the presence of a disabled household member increase the likelihood of displacement for homeowners. Among renters, the presence of children, older households, and being native-born increase the odds of displacement, but a female-headed household reduces them. When examining type-specific displacement, we find variation in who is most susceptible to experience a forced move.

Residential Immobility and Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Housing Quality

“…A key question which follows is: Is all immobility equal? Socioeconomic status (SES) is a focal predictor of whether a household experiences residential displacement and voluntary residential mobility (Siskar and Evans 2021). Matthew Desmond and his colleagues (2015) find with their data of Milwaukee renters that those with the highest and lowest incomes are the most likely to move compared with those with middle-incomes.…”

“…Yet, White households move more often than Black and Hispanic households of similar economic means (Mateyka 2015; South and Deane 1993). Among renters, White households are more likely to move than Black households (Siskar and Evans 2021). At the core of both the residential mobility and residential displacement literature is an assumption of housing stability by virtue of not moving.…”

From Crisis to Progress: Housing and Latino Youth since 2000

“…Latino tenants may also be more likely to face eviction when they have non-Hispanic landlords (Greenberg, Gershenson, and Desmond 2016). Crucially, Latino renter households are more vulnerable to eviction and displacement due to a greater presence of children in the home (Desmond and Gershenson 2017; Siskar and Evans 2021), pointing to the share of residents who are youth as an important factor to consider for further analysis.…”