Americans once again fled large cities for suburbs and Republican-led states in massive numbers from June 2021 to June 2022, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of Census data.
More than 800,000 people in total left the country’s large metropolitan areas, compared to 1.2 million the year before, in an ongoing trend sparked by the pandemic, according to the WSJ. Ten of the nation’s 25 largest metropolitan areas saw population loss, and most of the top cities that saw population gains were located in red states.
New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco saw the biggest declines, each at around 0.8% population loss, while the largest gains occurred in Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Tampa, Orlando, Charlotte and San Antonio, which saw populations rise from 1% to over 2%, according to the WSJ. (RELATED: California And New York Compete For Who Can Lose More Residents)
Pillar #2: Safety
For too long, New Yorkers were asked to accept things that should be unacceptable: crime, rats, trash, traffic. New Yorkers can finally see safer days ahead after years of rising crime, and now we’re going to push quality of life higher than ever. pic.twitter.com/E71vi3qr2u
— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) January 26, 2023
New York, which has the largest losses, saw a 25.8% increase in violent crime from 2021 to 2022, while violent crime in Los Angeles rose 8.6% over the same period. Aside from the urban crime wave that began in 2020, people are also seeking out smaller cities and suburbs for more affordable housing options due to increased flexibility related to remote work, according to the WSJ.
Suburban counties and small to mid-sized towns saw a 0.7% increase during the year, though the suburbs of Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. shrank, according to the WSJ. The minor gains in movers to small towns and rural areas were offset by low birth rates.
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