People are leaving or avoiding living in states with abortion bans, a new paper shows — resulting in lower rental prices and higher vacancies than in states that protect reproductive rights, demonstrating how abortion bans are reshaping the rental market.

The research — published Monday by the National Bureau of Economic Research, a nonprofit economic research organization — compared housing markets in states with abortion bans to states without those restrictions. They found that between July 2022 — the first month after the fall of Roe v. Wade — and June 2025, housing markets with abortion bans experienced a 2.2 percent decline in rental prices, compared to similarly trending markets in states without bans. Rental vacancies went up by an average of 1.1 percent in housing markets with abortion bans compared to similar markets in states without bans.

The paper’s authors concluded that abortion bans had an “economically meaningful and statistically significant” effect on reshaping the rental market.

“This combination of findings—falling rents alongside rising rental vacancies—is consistent with a demand shift,” they wrote.

The paper is part of a growing body of research showing how abortion bans are reshaping communities. Other studies have linked abortion bans to higher rates of poverty and higher property crime rates, and found that they may be driving young people to leave their home states. Surveys have shown that aspiring doctors — especially those training to OBGYNs — are less likely to choose residencies in states with abortion bans, demonstrating the profound impact of abortion bans on reshaping the rental market.

Abortion rights may not be the only factor people weigh when choosing where to live. States with abortion restrictions may have cheaper housing, for instance, or offer people a chance to live closer to family.

But the paper’s findings suggest access to reproductive health care is influencing a meaningful share of people in the United States regarding where they want to live — especially renters, who have more mobility than homeowners. Rental prices declined more as time progressed, which suggests the trend may continue as long as states’ approaches to abortion continue to diverge.

Read the full article about abortion bans reshaping the rental market by Shefali Luthra at The 19th.