Investigating the Socioeconomic Factors Influencing Households’ Residential Location Choice Using Multinomial Logit Analysis

Abstract

Increasing amounts of literature have been published recently on the factors that influence household residential location decisions. These factors include transportation accessibility, physical and environmental aspects of neighborhoods, household socioeconomic characteristics, and others. However, few research has looked at how the attributes of a housing location influence households’ choices. As a result, the primary goal of this study is to examine the influencing factors for households’ residential location choices. This has been achieved by developing a discrete choice analysis that utilizes a multinomial logit model, using state-wide data from the National Household Travel Survey (NHTS). The key findings of this study reveal that the most influential factors include; household income, race, household size, number of vehicles in thehousehold, type of housing, and the household structure. The critical factors linked with high-income groups include access to school, proximity to work, and closeness to friends and family.