The Family-Friendly Community and Its Life Course Fit for Dual-Earner Couples

Much is known about family-friendly workplaces. This article examines the less understood familyfriendliness of the communities in which dual-earner couples reside. Using data from a representative sample of dual-earner couples (N1⁄4 727) in upstate New York, we examine how individual, couple, and neighborhood characteristics are associated with perceptions of community family-friendliness. Using a life course perspective, we find that couples with young children rate their communities more favorably than do other couples. Findings also indicate that for couples with children of their own, living in a neighborhood with many other families with children is associated with higher ratings of family-friendliness. We term this match, between a couple’s life stage and their neighborhood’s demographic structure, life stage-neighborhood fit.