ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the phenomenon of increased footloose wealth with specific interests in the rural housing choices of higher income households and the effect of this on communities throughout rural America. Rural regions with high levels of amenities attract footloose American wealth. But it is also important to note that there are not examples of places where the rural rich are alone. Regions with high levels of rural wealth are places of great contrast; very high-income households exist simultaneously with poor and moderate income households. For rural housing stock, the long-term implications of rural high-income households within regions include the availability of affordable housing and significant employment displacement. In resort communities, the availability of affordable housing and employee displacement creates a spatial mismatch between housing alternatives for service and retail sector employees and the location of their employment opportunities. Rural land use planning and public policy as currently practiced support, maintain, and foster exclusivity for upper-middle- and high-income landowners.
