Impacts of Urban-rural Migration on Domain-specific Satisfaction

This study examines the impact of migration between urban and rural areas on well-being, with a focus on overall life satisfaction and domain-specific satisfaction. Although previous research has established that migration to areas with declining population often reduces subjective well-being, little is known about how such urban-rural migration affects satisfaction across specific life domains. Using data from an online survey conducted among individuals in Japan, we find that migration to urban areas improves overall life satisfaction, resulting in a 7.39% higher life satisfaction compared to those who remain in rural areas. Additionally, such migration increases satisfaction in domains including jobs and wages, childcare, elderly care, and opportunities to meet people. In contrast, migration to rural areas does not improve well-being in domains such as environmental, security, and community satisfaction, which is hypothesized as advantages of migration to declining cities. Contrary to the common belief that people staying in rural areas have lower satisfaction with education and health than urban migrants, our findings reveal no significant disparity in these domains. By shedding light on domain-specific satisfaction, overall, our findings highlight the pronounced benefits of migration to urban areas. These results underscore the urgency for declining cities to improve their standards in these key domains to ensure long-term sustainability.