Moving to a "better" zip code isn't the answer

A randomized experiment has explored whether or not where you live has an effect on life chances. Between 1994 and 1998, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Moving to Opportunity (MTO) for Fair Housing program recruited more than 4,600 families with children living in severely distressed public housing projects in five cities (Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City). Some MTO families were offered the opportunity to use a housing voucher to move into private-market housing in wealthier neighborhoods, while the others were not.

New research, led by researchers from the U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research, outlines the long-term (10-15 years) impact of the MTO program on children who were approximately 11 years old or younger at baseline. They discovered few detectable effects on achievement, education, employment, and a range of other health and risky behavior outcomes. However, there were some encouraging effects on mental health, primarily for girls and young women.