Rural, Urban and Suburban Communities

Nearly half of U.S. adults say the pandemic has driven people in their community apart. Many see a long road to recovery: About one-in-five say life in their community will never get back to the way it was before COVID-19.

Pew Research Center’s political typology sorts Americans into cohesive, like-minded groups based on their values, beliefs, and views about politics and the political system. Use this tool to compare the groups on some key topics and their demographics.

Rural adults are less likely than suburban adults to have home broadband and less likely than urban adults to own a smartphone, tablet or computer.

U.S. gun owners have long favored more permissive gun policies while adults who do not own guns have tended to favor more restrictive ones.

While a few proposals continue to garner bipartisan support, partisan divisions on others – including a ban on assault-style weapons – have grown wider.

Today, 25% of adults ages 65 and older report never going online, compared with much smaller shares of adults under the age of 65.

Compared with 2000, suburban populations are less engaged in the labor market, experiencing declining incomes and seeing home values that have not kept pace with those of the central cities.

Those most likely to say COVID-19 threatens day-to-day life live in urban areas in states that have seen relatively high numbers of cases.

About nine-in-ten Americans say conflicts between Democrats and Republicans are strong or very strong; 71% say these conflicts are very strong.

Conservative Republicans are about twice as likely as liberal Democrats to prefer a community where the houses are larger and farther apart.