NYC population shrinks by 78K, officials claim census miscounted migrants
NEW YORK, NY: Taxicabs wait for passengers outside Grand Central Terminal on 42nd Street New York City. (Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
NEW YORK - NYC lost nearly 80,000 residents who moved away in 2023, according to population estimates, but city officials suggest the numbers don't account for the migrants who have moved into the city.
The city has now welcomed more than 180,000 asylum seekers since the beginning of the migrant crisis.
Numerous makeshift shelters, closed hotels, prisons, and even schools have been used to help house tens of thousands of migrants who entered the city.
The city says much of the estimated decrease in New York City’s population is likely offset by an underestimate of people living in shelters.
The Associated Press reports that NYC officials plan to challenge these estimates.
Recently arrived migrants congregate outside of the Roosevelt Hotel in midtown Manhattan on September 28, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
According to city officials, they claim as many as 50,000 people were overlooked in the U.S. Census Bureau's 2023 population estimates.
NYC splits the population into two groups – those living in households and those living in group quarters.
The group quarters population includes those who live in facilities such as college dormitories, military barracks, correctional facilities and shelters.
The city claims the census estimated only a marginal change in the quarter's population between 2022 and 2023, even though the population living in shelters increased by roughly 50,000.
Officials said the increase in the shelter population is not reflected in the population estimates and that "there is no reason to believe that there are meaningful changes in the populations of other types of group quarters."
"We wanted to flag it," said Casey Berkovitz, press secretary for New York’s Department of City Planning. "Once you account for this underestimate ... the year marked a return to pre-pandemic levels."
Even though births outpaced deaths in Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx in 2023, the city saw rapid population declines.
New York City lost over 25,000 people in each of these boroughs, according to estimates.
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New York sees largest population decline of 50 states in 2023: census
Along with the 0.5% rate of population decline, New York also recorded the largest decline in pure numbers, with a drop of almost 102,000 residents, according to the U.S. Census.
Only Los Angeles County had a larger population loss last year – 56,000 fewer residents in 2023, the largest decline in the U.S.
As a state, New York lost more residents – and at the largest rate – in 2023 than any other state, despite an overall rise in the U.S. population, according to U.S. Census data.
The bureau released a map showing the percentage change in state populations between July 2022 and July 2023 – New York stands out as the only state colored a deep orange, a label for a percentage change of -0.5 or more.
Along with the 0.5% rate of population decline, the Empire State also recorded the largest decline in pure numbers, with a drop of almost 102,000 residents.
New York was only one of eight states to see its population decline over this period, joined by California (-75,423), Hawaii (-4,261), Illinois (-32,826), Louisiana (-14,274), New York (-101,984), Oregon (-6,021), Pennsylvania (-10,408) and West Virginia (-3,964).
The Associated Press contributed to this report.