American Workers Keep Fleeing Big Cities

For decades, big cities like New York and Chicago thrived thanks to white-collar work. Even as the number of manufacturing jobs plummeted, overall employment soared, with New York alone seeing its number of private-sector employees jump from 3 million to 4 million between 1990 and 2020. Smaller U.S. regions, meanwhile, were left behind.

Then Covid hit. Workers fled big cities for smaller cities and towns, freed by remote work. In 2021, metro areas with at least 1 million residents lost a net 900,000 people to out-migration. By 2023, even as lockdown restrictions eased, office occupancy in large metro areas stayed below 50 percent.

What many assumed would be a temporary shift has turned out to be more permanent, Steven Malanga observes. Some metro areas with less than 250,000 residents have reversed years of population decline among workers aged 25 to 49, seeing a gain of at least 100,000 net new residents in each of the last three years.

“Demographers studying recent migration trends point to a mix of cultural and economic factors—most notably, lower crime, better schools, and a growing preference for natural surroundings, a shift accelerated by the pandemic,” Malanga writes.

Read more about the issues driving the shift, the counties experiencing the biggest boom, and what it all means for big cities.

Back in May, the New York State Department of Education launched a Numeracy Initiative to address students’ low math scores. A series of Numeracy Briefs attempt to instruct educators on best practices, but they have quickly caused confusion and concern, Danyela Souza Egorov points out. The materials “seem to draw inspiration from a movement,” she writes, “that prioritizes equal outcomes in math instruction over rigor and merit.”

Read her take on the initiative and how it could end up hurting students in the long run.

Next year’s World Cup could draw 6.5 million spectators to U.S. venues. More than 1 million are expected to travel to the New York/New Jersey area alone for the final game at MetLife Stadium. “This massive boost to tourism will serve as an economic stimulus to the region; the NYNJ World Cup 2026 Host Committee projects a $3.3 billion boost in spending,” Santiago Vidal Calvo points out.

But the World Cup will also stress the city’s infrastructure and services like never before. Hotels are already at 85 percent occupancy on average. Subways currently carry more than 4 million weekday riders, a load the system has struggled to bear. Ensuring public safety will be paramount, and the city will need support from the NYPD, state police, and even the National Guard.

Will the next mayor be ready?

How can students know which colleges will give them the best educational value for their dollar? Renu Mukherjee, Neetu Arnold, and Rafael Mangual explore City Journal’s newly released College Rankings—and what makes them so different from other college-assessment guides. They discuss the experiences of conservative students on campus, the importance of ideological diversity, how social pressures shape student life, and the tension between meritocracy and identity in admissions.

“In some ways I sympathize with the young adults.

They really are brainwashed, thanks to our mostly Communist-leaning education system, not realizing that they have been shortchanged on their education.

They are saddled with onerous college debts due to inflation from government subsidies to colleges and universities.

Then they look around and see not just wealthy people but filthy rich people.

Meanwhile, they’re frustrated that they can’t afford a house—not a mansion, just a regular house—because inflation has also pushed houses beyond reach.

This creates the breeding ground for Communism.”

Photo credit: Ian G Dagnall/Alamy Stock Photo