Attributes of growing and shrinking places within socioeconomic clusters in the United States

Geographical variation in socioeconomic characteristics is examined on a regular basis using typologies. Such typologies are then used to understand processes that may have influenced the outcomes. For example, the outcome of deindustrialization, migration, and internationalization has drawn attention to places that are experiencing population decline and related economic distress. With the rise of suburbanization, a large body of the literature has focused on suburban patterns. Very few studies examine the United States as a whole to understand similarities and differences or what unites and divides the population. Studies note that until recently the suburban gains have been at the expense of rural regions, but rural areas are not always incorporated in the typology of U.S. places. A goal of this paper is to use data at the level of ZIP codes to find distinct socioeconomic clusters. The results show that some clusters have regional patterns but others exist across the nation. Metropolitan areas display distinct arrangements of clusters. We also find distinct patterns within each cluster, with clear distinctions between those areas that are growing and those that are experiencing population decline.