Drawing on the work of Sassen, we assess the association between regional economic performance and the distance between parents and their employed children. Multilevel regression analyses of German Ageing Survey micro data enriched with INKAR (Indicators, Maps, and Graphics for Spatial and Urban Development) district level indicators (N = 5,577) indicate that economic performance of a parent's living district is negatively associated with parent‐employed child distance. The negative association between economic performance of a parent's living district and parent–child distance does not vary by the skill level of the child's job, contrary to expectations based on the polarisation and professionalisation theses. Possible implications of the findings for intergenerational solidarity, most notably the availability of informal care for dependent older parents, are discussed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.