Are “desirable” cities really so desirable? City characteristics and subjective well-being in the U.S.

Abstract

Governments, civic society, businesses, and citizens all strive to make cities more livable. However, evidence about what aspects of cities actually contribute to the subjective well-being of their residents is incomplete. This paper examines the links between life satisfaction and indicators of the “quality” of U.S. metropolitan areas such as leisure/cultural opportunities, crime, climate, transportation, racial/ethnic diversity, incomes, cost of living, income inequality, the environment, healthcare, population growth, and political affiliation and polarization. Using mixed-effects regression and controlling for individual demographics, data on 9,498 respondents in 161 U.S. metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) suggest that MSA characteristics have little relationship with life satisfaction. The only consistently significant characteristics are the natural log of median MSA per capita income, which is negatively associated with life satisfaction, and climate quality, which is positively associated with it. The association between the percentage of the population voting Republican and life satisfaction is negative but only borderline significant. Further, principal components analysis shows that MSAs with characteristics similar to California's Central Valley or the Texas/Mexico border are actually associated with higher life satisfaction. The finding that subjective well-being tends to be higher in places with better climates is well-supported by prior literature; past research also helps explain why poorer places may be happier, since people tend to be happier when their income compares favorably to their peer group's.