University of California Institute of Transportation Studies

Growing poverty in America’s suburbs challenges their image as single-family residential communities for middle class, predominantly white families. Research shows that suburban areas now have the largest share of households under the poverty line. Since these areas have lower density development and lower levels of public transit service compared to urban areas, living in the suburbs may pose accessibility challenges for low-income households, particularly those without a personal vehicle. To explore housing and transportation issues associated with the suburbanization of poverty, we combined U.S. Census data from Contra Costa County, which has the highest rates of suburban poverty in the San Francisco Bay Area, and online and in-person surveys with individuals who earn less than 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI), around $75,000. This research identifies demographic and external factors that lead low- and moderate-income households to move to suburban areas, accessibility barriers faced by low- and moderate-income suburban households, and how transportation use and transportation and housing costs differ between urban and suburban low-income residents in the Bay Area.