By Ben Winck :  insider – excerpt

After years of being overshadowed by city centers and chic suburbs, “exurbs” are winning over Americans. Think, less suburb, more rural; fewer sidewalks, more country roads; fewer mega malls, more strip malls.

These areas — characterized by more affordable housing and greater distance from cities — emerged as the districts du jour for well-to-do Americans during the Great Migration of the pandemic. The biggest population shift was from urban areas to rural neighborhoods and exurbs, Jefferies analysts said in a note citing USPS mail-forwarding data. Areas like Kenosha County, Wisconsin, likely benefited from people leaving Milwaukee and Chicago, which sit 40 and 66 miles away, respectively. Similarly, Sussex County, New Jersey, is an exurb 55 miles from New York City…

The jump in exurb occupancy likely boosted wealth in these once-ignored areas. Median household income in exurbs stood at $74,573 in 2019, according to data from The American Communities Project cited by The Wall Street Journal. By comparison, the median income in the New York metro area was more than $83,000 and the measure neared $115,000 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The last year’s moves by city-dwelling Americans likely helped close that gap…(more)