Examining Neighborhood Opportunity and Locational Outcomes for Housing Choice Voucher Recipients: A Comparative Study between Duval County, Florida, and Bexar County, Texas

Abstract

Recent attention has highlighted the importance of providing low–income households access to opportunity–rich neighborhoods. Using a neighborhood opportunity framework developed specifically for the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program, this study investigates whether low–income households participating in the program live in opportunity areas. The results indicate that with scarce high–opportunity neighborhoods, most HCV households reside in mixed opportunity areas and face tradeoffs when deciding where to live. Voucher holders reside in areas with moderate or poor accessibility and neighborhood conditions compared to other assisted and nonassisted low–income renters. Opportunity outcomes also vary among different household types of HCV recipients.