OKC MAPS PROJECTS – 25 YEARS
A recent study of housing demand in Oklahoma City underscores the role played by the perceived quality of the school system in selecting where to live in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. 15 The findings illustrate the degree to which school system quality affects regional development patterns across the city, particularly in the central portions and downtown. The results also confirm that an economic payoff in the form of greater population growth and residential development should be expected to accompany higher-quality schools in Oklahoma City. Survey results from the report suggest that many of the city’s households would leave suburban and rural areas surrounding Oklahoma City and move to more central portions of the city if school quality did not affect their decision where to live. Given equal schools, households reported being more likely to live in central Oklahoma City (+3.5% of city households), urban portions of northeast Oklahoma City (+1.5% of city households), and downtown (+2.1% of city households). Residents reported being less likely to live in Edmond (-3.6%), rural areas to the northwest (-1.4% of city households), urban areas to the northwest (-1.4% of city households), and Moore-Norman (-0.6% of city households) if school quality was equal across the metropolitan area. Households also reported a willingness to pay more for housing when selecting a place to live in exchange for higher-quality schools. Nearly 25 percent of households report they would be very likely to pay 10% more for housing to have higher quality schools. More than 80% reported being somewhat likely or very likely to pay 10% more. In testing the sensitivity of households’ willingness to pay for better schools, approximately 10% of households reported they are very likely to pay a 20% premium in housing for better schools. School quality also ranked as a higher priority than many other factors examined. A far higher share of city households reported a willingness to pay a premium for housing to have better schools than for having their commute time cut in half, the ability to walk to work, or the ability to walk to shops. Willingness to pay more for higher quality schools is closely related to age, with younger households far more likely to pay more for better schools. More than one-third (34%) of households with an adult age 18 to 34 report they are very likely to pay 10% more for housing to have high-quality schools. The share reported for the younger age group is far more reflective of the behavior of a typical family with school- aged children than is the overall sample of households of all ages. Schools are also cited as an important factor in the decision of households to move to a more urban or central location within Oklahoma City. While lower crime (24%), affordability (21%), and sense of place (14%) are listed as the most common responses, 12% of households surveyed reported schools as their number one concern when moving into a more central portion of the city. Consistent with the premise underlying MAPS for Kids, the survey results support the notion that housing demand would be far greater in the central portions of the city, including downtown, with higher quality public education. To the extent that MAPS for Kids contributes to higher-quality schools, it should contribute to population growth, particularly in the central areas of the city. Young families with children are the most likely to respond to improved school quality.
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