Household migration in response to climate and severe weather: Heterogeneous sorting and the rural–urban divide

Abstract This paper investigates rural–urban climate disparities by analyzing household moves in response to severe weather events along the U.S. East Coast. Using a longitudinal sorting model, we assess migration following Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster declarations and find that household willingness to pay to avoid disasters differs between urban and rural areas. Specifically, households are willing to pay approximately $925 to avoid urban areas affected by hurricanes and $1072 to avoid rural areas affected by floods. Additionally, we find partial evidence that migration responses differ between White and Black/Hispanic households. These findings highlight the importance of understanding climate adaptation disparities across racial and ethnic groups, providing insights into equitable disaster aid and climate resilience strategies.