Suburban Advantage: Opportunity Hoarding and Secondary Attainment in the Postwar Metropolitan North

This study examines urban/suburban differences in educational outcomes in light of Tilly’s conception of “opportunity hoarding.” Data from the U.S. Census reveal the changing circumstances of 17-year-olds in central city and suburban settings across the post–World War II period. Focusing on the metropolitan Northeast and Eastern Midwest, we consider a range of factors associated with differences in educational attainment. Using a multilevel analytic strategy, we find evidence that clear distinctions emerged in this period, marking the educational status of youth in central city and suburban settings. While there were signs of urban/suburban inequality in certain metropolitan contexts and for specific types of suburbs in 1940, 40 years later the urban-suburban divide was clearly evident across all metropolitan settings. A wide range of factors became associated with this form of spatial differentiation in school experiences during the postwar era, suggesting that a prolonged process of systematic exclusion characterized this dimension of metropolitan development. We close with a brief discussion of policy implications for addressing school-related factors that may contribute to these differences.