For many years, Orthodox Jews in the U.S. became increasingly concentrated in a few urban areas—most importantly New York City and its environs—where they could enjoy the benefits that come with a large community of the observant. Michael Feldstein notes evidence that this trend has now been reversed:
When my wife and I got married in 1982, there were very few Orthodox communities outside the New York area that provided all of the amenities that observant families were looking for—synagogue, day school, mikvah, eruv [a symbolic boundary allowing the observant to carry objects outside their homes on the Sabbath], and the availability of kosher food. Today there are dozens and dozens of communities outside the New York metropolitan area that can satisfy the needs of the Orthodox consumer. [It is now possible] to live a rich and fully observant Jewish life in Richmond, Virginia; Louisville, Kentucky; Jacksonville, Florida, and dozens of other places that a generation or two ago had minimal resources for Orthodox families.
Feldstein also notes a concomitant change in attitudes, observing that not so long ago it was hard to come by Orthodox families willing to move “out of town”—a term that, in Orthodox vernacular, came to mean anywhere not commuting distance from Manhattan:
Today there are many Orthodox families who not only are open to moving outside the New York metro area, but who actually would prefer to live out of town—mostly for lower housing costs and day-school tuition, but also to escape the hustle and bustle of the city. . . . It’s an interesting demographic shift in the attitude and focus of young Orthodox families.
Read more on Jewish Link: https://jewishlink.news/features/49187-the-changing-geographic-face-of-the-orthodox-community-in-america