In Some U.S. Regions, It Pays to Live Near a Wildlife Refuge

Getting closer to nature has its perks, at least in some regions of the United States.

A new NC State study finds that urban homes within a half-mile of a national wildlife refuge have higher property values than homes located further from wildlife refuges. All of the homes studied were within eight miles of urban centers, or areas with populations of more than 50,000 people.

Laura Taylor, the NC State environmental economist who led the study, says these results aren’t surprising. Open space is rare in urban areas, so places with limited development and beautiful views are highly valued by homeowners.

Property values of homes near wildlife refuges were, on average, 7 to 9 percent higher in the Southeast; 4 to 5 percent higher in the Northeast; and 3 to 6 percent higher in California/Nevada. That added about $300 million to local property values in areas surrounding the 36 refuges in those three regions that were included in the analysis. Calculations were performed using year 2000 dollars.

Researchers did not include data from other U.S. regions, like the Midwest, Southwest and Pacific Northwest, because most wildlife refuges in those regions are not close to cities.

Researchers made calculations using confidential U.S. Census data on home values from the year 2000.

The peer-reviewed study was commissioned and released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on May 30.