Cities That Lost and Gained the Most People in the Pandemic

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In the past two decades, there was no single year that comes close to showing the population declines that most cities experienced in 2020-21 during the covid pandemic.

In the past two decades, there was no single year that comes close to showing the population declines that most cities experienced in 2020-21 during the covid pandemic.

Was there really a mass exodus of Americans from big cities during the covid pandemic? For many of the nation’s largest cities, the answer is yes: the pandemic has had an unprecedented affect on their populations.

Cities were mostly growing since 2000, although that growth waxed and waned with economic conditions. But when covid hit, many cities saw historic population losses, an analysis of census data by the Brookings Institution found.

San Francisco’s population fell 6.3%, New York City lost 3.5%, San Jose, Calif. lost 2.7%, and Chicago lost 1.65%.

Who bailed? In San Francisco, they were mostly young adults, particularly white people in their late 20s, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

They were also rich. The folks who fled New York represented some $21 billion in residents’ income, according to the New York Times, and about one-third of the people who left moved from Manhattan and had an average annual income of $214,300.

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Where did these folks go? Many New Yorkers headed upstate, according to Cornell University. Some San Franciscans went to cheaper states like Georgia, Florida, and Texas. Three suburban counties just north of San Francisco — Marin, Sonoma and Napa— saw a net increase of more than $7 billion in resident income. The Chronicle describes one couple who sold their San Francisco condo for $1.7 million and began building a 4,300-square-foot mansion on almost 2 acres in Monument, Colo.

They also may have gone to other cities: some cities did show positive growth during 2020-21, Brookings found. Several were cities that were growing rapidly before the pandemic, such as Charlotte, N.C., and Fort Worth, Texas.

Examining data going back two decades, Brookings analysts found that there was no individual year that comes close to showing the population declines that most cities experienced in 2020-21.

Of the 88 U.S. cities with populations exceeding 250,000, 77 showed either slower growth, greater declines, or a shift from growth to decline.

Based on the data from Brookings, here are the cities that lost and gained the most people during the pandemic.

Cities With the Biggest Pandemic Population Loss1. New York City

2020-21 population loss: -305,465

New York was growing in 2010, but the growth steadily slowed, and 2016 began a steady net loss of population. The greatest loss before the pandemic was about 90,000 people in 2019-2020. The following year more than tripled the figure.

In boom times for cities (such as 2000-01 and right after the Great Recession), New York ranked first in overall population gains, whereas during the down years, it ranked among the those with greatest population losses.

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2. San Francisco

2020-21 population loss: -54,813

San Francisco, with a population around 850,000, had the biggest percentage loss at 6.3%.

3. Chicago

2020-21 population loss: -45,175

4. Los Angeles

2020-21 population loss: -40,537

5. San Jose, Calif.

2020-21 population loss: -27,419

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6. Philadelphia

2020-21 population loss: -24,754

7. Washington, D.C.

2020-21 population loss: -20,043

8. Boston

2020-21 population loss: -19,496

9. Dallas

2020-21 population loss: -14,777

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10. Houston

2020-21 population loss: -11,777

11. Portland, Ore.

2020-21 population loss: -11,226

12. Nashville-Davidson metro, Tennessee

2020-21 population loss: -10,397

13. Long Beach, Calif.

2020-21 population loss: -8,697

14. Jersey City, N.J.

2020-21 population loss: -8,000

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15. St. Louis

2020-21 population loss: -7,218

16. Milwaukee

2020-21 population loss: -6,971

17. Baltimore

2020-21 population loss: -6,634

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18. New Orleans

2020-21 population loss: -6,311

19. Denver

2020-21 population loss: -6,167

20. Detroit

2020-21 population loss: -5,712

21. Oakland, Calif.

2020-21 population loss: -5,518

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22. Indianapolis

2020-21 population loss: -5,343

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23. Honolulu

2020-21 population loss: -4,290

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24. Seattle

2020-21 population loss: -4,253

25. Cleveland

2020-21 population loss: -4,041

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10 Cities That Gained the Most People in the Pandemic1. San Antonio, Texas

2020-21 population gain: +13,626 

2. Phoenix

2020-21 population gain: +13,224 

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3. Fort Worth, Texas

2020-21 population gain: +12,916

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4. North Las Vegas, Nev.

2020-21 population gain: +9,917

5. Oklahoma City

2020-21 population gain: +4,965 

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6. Reno, Nev.

2020-21 population gain: +4,735 

7. Bakersfield, Calif.

2020-21 population gain: +4,214

8. Jacksonville, Fla.

2020-21 population gain: +4,151

9. Gilbert, Ariz.

2020-21 population gain: +3,930 

10. Colorado Springs, Colo.

2020-21 population gain: +3,743 

Read more about this analysis at Brookings.edu.


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