Examining the Residential Mobility Patterns of Individuals with a History of Incarceration

Cody Warner, Pennsylvania State University

Thanks to a massive expansion of the penal state, there now exists an identifiable felon class in American society. Increased scholarly attention to this group has documented collateral consequences of incarceration across a number of domains. Researchers have also become interested in examining the types of neighborhoods that ex-inmates reside in, which have important implications for the reentry process. Little is known, however, about the residential mobility patterns of individuals who have experienced correctional contact. This study draws on locational attainment and incarceration effects literatures to examine the impact of incarceration on residential mobility decisions. I find that exiting correctional confinement foster mobility behavior, but this effect is strongest for local moves. These results have important implications for understanding both the consequences of incarceration as well as the more general sorting of households into neighborhoods of varying quality.