Why are Exurbs so Republican ?

[mileslunn]

Not sure I would agree exurbs more Republican than rural areas.  That was true under Obama, but in 2020, yes most went Republican but not by same lopsided margins you saw in many rural areas.  More importantly, Trump generally did worse than Romney in most exurbs while much better than him in most rural areas.

Main reason is they are still very white.  Also population density is another factor.  If you plot vote vs. population density, correlation is very strong and seems to be getting stronger each election.  Suburbs typically have population densities over 500 people per square mile, while Exurbs are usually between 200 to 500 people per square mile which is higher than most rural areas although in Northeast you do have many rural areas that high and looking abroad, that is the typical density of a rural constituency in England. 

Also form of transportation another big factor.  People who drive cars to work more likely to vote GOP than those who take public transit and generally suburbs well served by public transit while exurbs are not.  Likewise social circles a big thing and since exurbs so far out, most who live in them may commute into work in city but spend very little time there otherwise and few in social circles live there.  By contrast those in suburbs more likely to go into city more often and have members from social circle who live there thus impacted.