The Impact of Residential Mobility on Segregation in California

Report
Michael Lens | Paavo Monkkonen | Gregory Preston | Dan Rinzler | Matt Alvarez-Nissen | Ann Owens | Katherine Chen
December 2025

In this report, we assess whether and how residential mobility contributes to enduring patterns of residential segregation and unequal access to opportunity-rich neighborhoods. This analysis makes use of a new dataset to explore the relationship of moving patterns over time to segregation in a way that was not previously possible and concludes by discussing possible policy responses.