Americans Fleeing Cities, Flocking to Suburbs
Bigger, older cities are losing population while the suburbs are exploding, recent U.S. Census data shows. Elk Grove, Calif., a Sacramento suburb, grew by 11.6 percent last year, to 112,000 people. In 1999, it wasn’t even incorporated. But it’s now typifying the appetite for open spaces, affordable homes and suburban living that’s sweeping the U.S.
Once a rural community, Elk Grove has given way to massive development. A short commute to Sacramento and proximity to major employers such as Apple Computer are driving forces.
“Ten to 15 years ago is when the housing started coming in. That was followed by the businesses,” says Janet Toppenberg, President and CEO of the Elk Grove Chamber of Commerce.
Americans have been moving west and south for decades. Last year was no different, as all but three of the 50 fastest-growing cities from 2004-2005 were in those regions. The California and Florida housing market dominated the list.
Elk Grove was followed in the top five by North Las Vegas, Nev.; Port St. Lucie, Fla.; Gilbert, Ariz., and Cape Coral, Fla. All five are suburban, with fewer than 200,000 residents.
Americans are moving away from many of the nation’s biggest cities, though the reasons vary as much as the cities themselves. People are following jobs out of struggling Midwestern cities, while for some, particularly in the Northeast and West Coast, the search for affordable housing is the mitigating factor. People also flee big cities everywhere in search of better schools.
New York remains the nation’s largest city, with 8.1 million people, and has added 135,000 people since 2000. However, it lost 21,500 from 2004 to 2005, more than any other city. A struggling economy caused Detroit to fall by 65,000 people since 2000, the most of any city, while Philadelphia lost 54,000 people during that period amid economic crises of its own.
Insane California real estate prices in the country resulted in the loss of 37,000 people in San Francisco since 2000. The New Orleans housing market, which was already losing steam before Hurricane Katrina, has lost about 30,000 people from 2000 to 2005, although the city’s real estate values have recently taken off amidst a wave of development.
The exception to all of these trends? Florida. Despite steadily rising rates of Florida home loans, overcrowding, high housing costs that threaten to displace the middle class and one devastating hurricane season after another, the state is projected to see some of America’s heaviest growth in the next 10 years — much of it in cities as well as suburbs.
