Is Your Big Five the Real Reason You Love–or Hate–Big City Living?

Ask someone if they prefer living in a big city or a small town, and there’s a good chance you will receive a clear-cut answer. People may move to a sprawling metropolis for job opportunities or education, but that doesn’t mean their heart feels at home there. In fact, the places we’re drawn to are not always explained by circumstance alone. 

If you suspect that personality type plays a role in these choices, you’re right on target. But the research is more varied than simply splitting people into two camps. Your big-city preference (or longing for quieter pastures) may have more to do with the wrong versus right type of city.

Who Dislikes Big City Living?

In a global data analysis conducted from 2022 to 2023, Truity pinpointed some intriguing commonalities between where people choose to live and their Big Five personality. The study analyzed the Big Five scores of over 3.6 million people and cross-referenced those traits with their location. The results revealed some interesting findings about where people choose to live, which traits dominate in certain cities and states, and why stereotypes about “nice Midwesterners” and the “taciturn types of the Mountain West” actually hold up under scrutiny.

In the smaller towns and cities, we observed the following personality traits:

• Low Openness: If you score low on Openness on the Big Five personality assessment, you may prefer tight-knit communities and don’t like to stray too far from a predictable way of life. The fast and unpredictable pace of densely populated, metropolitan areas can make you feel like a fish out of water.
• Low Conscientiousness: Scoring low in Conscientiousness may also make you feel intimidated by the fast-paced, dog-eat-dog mentality of some big cities. Low-C types prefer a calmer, laid-back vibe over a competitive, go-getter society. You also prefer spontaneity, which isn’t always the best approach when working in a big city or trying to “keep up with the Joneses.”
• Low Extraversion: Cities are noisy and overwhelming for many Introverts (i.e. those who score low on the Big Five trait of Extraversion). The constant stimulation and push to socialize may leave you feeling exhausted and cranky all the time. Since introverts need peace, quiet and solitude to recharge their batteries, big cities may not be right for them.
• High Agreeableness: Those who score high on Agreeableness often prefer the cooperative spirit and supportive atmosphere of small towns. These individuals thrive on kindness, trust and the close social ties of neighbors who know each other, and may find the competitive and sometimes impersonal nature of big-city life less satisfying. 
• High Neuroticism: If you score higher than average in Neuroticism, you may feel stressed out by big cities. All of the noise, crowds, stimulation, hard-to-find parking and terrible traffic raise your anxiety levels and wreak havoc on your mood.

Who Thrives in Big City Living?

People who sit at the opposite end of the personality spectrum may actively seek out the hustle and bustle of city living.

Openness, for example, is associated with a love for the new—new ideas, new people, new schedules and new cultural experiences. It makes sense that people with high Openness will love what urban living offers. Experiences like pop-ups, ever-changing challenges at work, plenty of new people to meet, museums, new food options and thousands of different activities are precisely what keep them feeling fulfilled.

For the career-driven, metropolitan cities may feed their burning ambition better than small-town life ever could. Those high in Conscientiousness want to get ahead and will work hard to achieve their goals. The rat race of the big city may feel like home for these types.

Scoring high in Extraversion means you love the social life big cities offer. Big events and the thrill of meeting new people feed your Extraverted personality dimension. It may be harder for an Extravert to opt for small-town living, simply because they love to feel connected to a wide community of people.

What If You Have Conflicting Big Five Traits?

While one of your Big Five personality traits might suggest a preference for city living, it may not be enough to determine where you’ll feel happiest. All of your traits come together to give your unique personality profile. There could be some interesting conflicts in your make up, such as high Openness (drawn to a city) and high Neuroticism (feels more relaxed in a small town).

The trick to discerning what’s best for you is taking all of your traits into account, and accepting where your boundaries lie in terms of traits that might conflict. For instance, I score high on Openness, but low on Extraversion. I know myself well enough to know I prefer wide open spaces, a lot of nature, and less of the hustle and bustle.

With that information, I have a couple of options. I could opt for a small town, or I could search for a big city that offers more “introvert-friendly” spaces and a laid-back vibe. Plenty of cities fit the bill, like Seattle or San Diego. Interestingly, our data shows that San Diego is one of the more extraverted cities, but I have spent years visiting this city and have always enjoyed the slower, healthier lifestyle.

Your Big Five Traits Can Help You Find a City You Love  

Yes, some Big Five traits may make you more likely to prefer small-town living over big-city living. But cities do not all have the same culture, vibe or pace. In reality, the research points to the idea that nearly anyone can love a big city if they pick the right match for them. And where you live matters, not just because it “feels like home” but because you want to feel seen, fit in and be around like-minded people.

So how do you determine which city is the perfect fit? 

It comes down to analyzing your Big Five personality traits, and finding the cities that match your lifestyle, attitudes and beliefs. Introverts, for example, may actually love living in a big city like Albuquerque, New Mexico or Portland, Oregon, as they ranked in the top five U.S. cities with the highest percentages of Introverts. The question is not necessarily “small town or big city?” but “What kind of big city fits who I am and how I want to live my life?”

This quick perspective shift can help you suss out which cities fit your needs, energy levels and desired pace of living. Using my Big Five results as an example, I would need a city with a calmer environment (high Neuroticism) that was also introvert-friendly (low Extraversion), with a lot of cultural activities available (thanks to my high Openness). I could also take my high Agreeableness and Conscientiousness into account and search for a friendlier city with a more structured workforce.

You can try doing similar detective work yourself, or take Truity’s “What City Do You Belong In?” quiz to match your personality to the cities that reflect who you are. It paired me up with Manila, Philippines as a potential dream city!

Summing It Up

It’s okay if you hate the idea of big-city living and feel more suited to small-town life. But where you live has a lot more to do with your Big Five personality traits than you might have guessed. Knowing your traits can actually help you pinpoint a city that’s a fit for you.

Some Big Five traits, such as low Extraversion, low Conscientiousness, low Openness, high Agreeableness and high Neuroticism may make one more suited to living in a small town. And other traits, such as high Extraversion, high Conscientiousness and high Openness prepare you more for big-city living. But don’t write off big cities for good! They’re not all the same, and you might find one that actually feels like home.