Posted on 04/20/2006 1:59:51 PM PDT by Heartofsong83
Census: Americans Are Fleeing Big Cities By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER, Associated Press Writer Thu Apr 20, 12:15 AM ET
WASHINGTON - Americans are leaving the nation's big cities in search of cheaper homes and open spaces farther out.
Nearly every large metropolitan area had more people move out than move in from 2000 to 2004, with a few exceptions in the South and Southwest, according to a report being released Thursday by the Census Bureau.
Northeasterners are moving South and West. West Coast residents are moving inland. Midwesterners are chasing better job markets. And just about everywhere, people are escaping to the outer suburbs, also known as exurbs.
"It's a case of middle class flight, a flight for housing affordability," said William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. "But it's not just white middle class flight, it's Hispanics and blacks, too."
The Census Bureau measured domestic migration — people moving within the United States — from 1990 to 2000, and from 2000 to 2004. The report provides the number of people moving into and out of each state and the 25 largest metropolitan areas.
The states that attracted the most new residents: Florida, Arizona and Nevada. The states that lost the most: New York, California and Illinois.
Among the 25 largest metropolitan areas, 18 had more people move out than move in from 2000 to 2004. New York, Los Angeles and Chicago — the three biggest metropolitan areas — lost the most residents to domestic moves. The New York metropolitan area had a net loss of more than 210,000 residents a year from 2000 to 2004.
Richard Florida, a professor of public policy at George Mason University, said smaller, wealthier households are replacing larger families in many big metropolitan areas.
That drives up housing prices even as the population shrinks, chasing away even more members of the middle class.
"Because they are bidding up prices, they are forcing some people out to the exurbs and the fringe," Florida said. "Other people are forced to make moves in response to that. I don't have any sense of this abating."
The metropolitan area that attracted the most new residents was Riverside, Calif., which has been siphoning residents from Los Angeles for years. The Riverside area, which includes San Bernardino and Ontario, had a net gain of 81,000 people a year from 2000 to 2004.
Riverside has grown to become the 13th largest metropolitan area in the nation. It's a short drive to several mountain ranges, and it's within driving distance of the beach. Locally, it is known as the Inland Empire.
"When you look at housing prices in Southern California, along the beaches and coastlines, you're able to obtain a very large home for a much lower price" in Riverside, said Cindy Roth, president and CEO of the Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce.
Homes in Riverside aren't cheap. The median price — the point at which half cost more and half cost less — was $374,200 in 2005. But they are less expensive than Los Angeles, where the median price was $529,000.
Other areas that attracted a lot of new residents also have relatively inexpensive homes, even if they are not the cheapest in the country. Phoenix, Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla., Atlanta and Dallas-Fort Worth round out the top five metropolitan areas.
I don't see any decline in LA. Likely for every person leaving, five more are coming in from across the border. Doubtful those people are taking the census poll.
Yet strangely, all four metropolitan areas have experienced tremendous housing price appreciation. Detroit, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh are in decline but with cheap housing.
The young people I know leaving Boston do so because they can't afford a home in which to raise a family. The job market and quality of life are still excellent here, as in the other metro areas, but supply and demand for housing are out of whack so the people who have the most to gain (young people with no current toehold in the housing market) have been moving elsewhere.
"This is news? It's only been going on for about 50 years or so."
More than 50 years.
My mother, her parents and grandparents drove from New York state to Whittier, California in 1928.
Whittier then was a suburb of Lost Angeles, with orchards, a nice little college, etc. Today it is packed tight.
Excellent post. Right on the mark.
You are surely correct. This census study only studied flows of residents within the country. International migration numbers were not considered. The point is that this is what those who have lived here for some time have chosed to do.
Welcome to Wright County
Just don't let any of the locals hear you call St. Michael an "outer suburb" of MPLS no matter how built up it becomes.
They think the Crow River protects them from ever being a suburb of MPLS.
But don't discount political motivation on the part of substantial numbers. For example, in my state (Wisconsin) very large numbers of retirees depart the state for weather reasons, but also because of the crushing tax burden.
You've found a slice, Pabianice. Beautiful shot.
We got a governor of dubious gender and unapologetic liberalism here in Arizona because of the Democrat losers who move here.
The Liberal Contagion. Very much like the spread of a disease.
Very good point. In Sioux Falls where I live, we've been inundated by a lot of Minneapolitans and as soon as they come here, they try to make it as much like where they came from as they can. Fargo has seen the same thing.
Arizona does get hurricanes like Katrina (1967). And even Nevada occasionally gets tropical storms. Just watch 'em drive up the Gulf of California; it happens once every several years.
So I have all the benefits of living and working in the suburbs and I'm only a 20 minute drive from downtown Philly when I want to go.
So I have all the benefits of living and working in the suburbs and I'm only a 20 minute drive from downtown Philly when I want to go.
Yes, somewhat like the "flesh eating" type.
Go hand in hand.
Actually, you'd be surprised - the vast majority do respond.
Place of birth, where you lived last year, how long ago you entered the US, and whether you're a citizen are all asked (legal or illegal residency is not asked about.)
If they move too far out, Liberals can't survive. They are too stupid to fix their own car, change a tire if it breaks down. Any lot too big for an electric lawnmower is no good. That would require a gas mower, then challenges like pooring gas from a container, fixing the lawnmower becomes an issue. Nieghbors burning wood bothers them, so they need to be in tight enough numbers to ban woodburning, smoking in local bars, etc.
Liberals freak out when they hear guns go off during hunting season. They can't stand living where they can't do anything about it.
bump
I am jealous....I want to live there, too.
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