Two Million People Bolted From America’s Major Cities Since The Lockdowns

A recent analysis by the Economic Innovation Group shows that over two million people left major cities in the United States between 2020 and 2022. These years were characterized by government lockdown policies and high crime rates. Domestic outmigration from large urban counties reached 1.2 million residents in 2021 and 861,000 in 2022, leading to a population surge in the suburbs and exurbs, which saw 486,000 and 822,000 new residents, respectively.

While increased rates of immigration from outside of the United States added 507,000 new residents to large cities in 2022, an increase from 186,000 residents in 2021, lockdown mandates caused low labor force participation and supply chain bottlenecks that worsened already-slow levels of new construction for residential real estate. Median home sale prices increased dramatically over time. The Census Bureau reported similar trends, with counties home to major cities in California, Illinois, and New York witnessing the nation’s most severe population decline last year.

The pandemic also accelerated the remote work trend, with many individuals taking advantage of policies that allowed them to work from anywhere. However, constrained housing markets likely slowed the trend. Elevated violent crime and property crime rates in American cities have contributed to an exodus of businesses and residents. Walmart and Whole Foods are among the stores that have closed some of their stores in Chicago and San Francisco amid rising crime.

Overall, population trends correspond with the cities and states that enforced aggressive lockdown mandates, with California and Illinois, for example, showing sizeable population declines. Although large urban counties have yet to rebound from high population outflows, they have almost stopped overall population loss in 2022, buoyed by higher rates of international migration.