There was a time during the pandemic when it seemed New Yorkers fled the city, when people claimed “New York is dead”, etc., etc. There was some real estate evidence of the departure, though other claims seemed to be exaggerations, there is now hard data to back up the assertions…but it also revealed some interesting patterns.
In Comptroller Stringer’s report, it was found that the net residential out-migration from NYC tripled during 2020. But, since July 2021, the city has gained about 6,332 permanent movers, “indicating a gradual return to New York City.” This came at a time when office buildings began reopening, in-person school starting again, and the arts and entertainment industry kicked back up.
The data was collected using the United States Postal Service (USPS)’s change of address forms, which of course isn’t all-encompassing, but still is a good indicator of moving trends.
https://twitter.com/NYCComptroller/status/1460269186727518211
Perhaps one of the most interesting takeaways (though not surprising) was that the city’s wealthiest neighborhoods experienced the most population loss. As measured by median income, “residents in the wealthiest 10 percent of city neighborhoods were 4.6 times more likely to move than other residents during 2020,” the report stated.
The new influx of over 6,000 individuals is mainly in neighborhoods that experienced the greatest migration. This includes: Chelsea/Midtown, Murray Hill/Gramercy, Battery Park City/Greenwich Village, and Chinatown/Lower East Side.
You can view the analysis in its entirety here.