Family income influences residential choices in Helsinki as children grow up – moving away most common in middle income families

Early childhood is the busiest period for moving house for children in Helsinki. Moving both within and out of Helsinki clearly decreases at school age and stabilises during the school years. Altogether, one third of the children who lived in Helsinki in their birth year move out of Helsinki by the age of fifteen, and rather few of them return to Helsinki during their childhood.

Lower-income families move within Helsinki more often 

Moving within Helsinki is more common among lower-income families, and children from lower-income families move more often during their childhood. During school years, low-income families also move out of Helsinki more often than other families, whereas middle-income families move out more often in early childhood.

However, there are also other factors than the income level, such as type and size of the family, housing tenure, size of the home and the income level of the residential area, that explain differences between children in their propensity to move within and out of Helsinki.

These results are derived from four research articles that examine childhood residential moves and residential areas of children who were born in 2003–2007 and lived in Helsinki in their birth year, especially from the perspective of their families’ and residential areas’ income level. In these studies, the children’s living situations were observed on an annual basis from birth until the age of fifteen, making use of Statistics Finland’s individual-level data.

Lowest- and highest-income families increasingly concentrate into separate areas as children get older

Children of Helsinki families with different levels of income already live in residential areas with noticeably different income levels from birth. During childhood, children are less likely to end up living in higher-income areas if they were born into a lower-income family. They are also less likely to end up living in higher-income areas if they are from a lower-income area.

As a result of these developments, especially the lowest- and highest-income families increasingly concentrate into separate areas as children get older. This can contribute to strengthening the income-based segregation of different areas.

“Preventing and limiting this type of segregation between areas is important for a multitude of reasons. It is also particularly important from the children's perspective, as their childhood living environment can influence their lives in many ways, both directly and in the longer term,” says Senior Researcher Laura Ansala from the City of Helsinki.