fact of matter is that u.s. suburbs have long been differentiated - by functional specialization, by residential demographics, by spatial arrangements...suburbia is neither simply a dormitory, nor simply a white, upper-middle strata place...some are very affluent, many are predominantly white & middle-strata, some are working class, others are poor, and larger suburbs (some have populations exceeding 100,000) contain a fair cross section of the US class structure...
but if suburbia, as a whole, is more heterogeneous than some think, individual suburbs are generally homogeneous and house people with very similar income, social, racial characteristics...so one finds:
a) 'exclusive enclave' where residents of a distant and wealthy suburb might refer to themselves as exurbanites and live in stately homes on large lots far removed from the center city...
b) 'middle class' suburb that has served as the focal point for so much sociological research and popular literature on homogeneous, conformist suburbia...
c) 'working class' suburb that is usually unincorporated because it is cheaper and residents are continually trying to save money to preserve the status as homeowners...
d) 'minority' surburbs that are often 'spillovers' where the central city population has expanded into adjacent suburbs...
e) 'elderly' suburbs comprised of folks who settled in early post-ww2 developments and who have remained (so-called 'retirement communities' are largely 'senior' suburbs)...
principal effect of suburbanization has been to increase opportunities for racial and social class (and now age) segregation... mh