(ConservativeSense.com) – Two million people left American cities between 2020 and 2022. The Economic Innovation Group has produced a report detailing the changing landscape of America and states that 1.2 million departed from the big cities in less than one year. Population figures remain stable, however, due to unusually high levels of immigration.
The causes of the exodus include rising crime and property costs. In addition, remote working, which exploded during the pandemic and has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels, has meant that many town center businesses have collapsed, and the city streets are far less exciting.
Crime is also a growing problem in urban areas and numbers continue on an upward trend. In New York, 438 homicides were recorded in 2022, up from 319 in 2019. There was also a dramatic increase in robbery in the Big Apple last year. This was up by 54% on the previous year, while rape was up 22%.
Chicago has seen a similar deterioration in law and order. Last year, figures showed that murder was up 31%, compared with 2019, while robbery and theft had risen by 37%. The Los Angeles Times reported last March that homicides in the city were up by 50% compared to 2019, property crime had increased by 5%, and vehicle thefts by 44%.
Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago are the cities most affected by the population shift. LA County lost 3% of its residents (300,000 people) between April 2020 and July 2022. During the same period, Chicago and its suburbs lost 166,000 people – also 3% of the population. New York was worst affected, with more than a quarter of a million departing from the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn.
The cost of property has skyrocketed in New York, which helps to explain the eagerness of residents to depart. A one-bed apartment in the city can now cost as much as $3,350 monthly. The average is $2,370 in Los Angeles.
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