LA, Chicago, New York Counties Post Biggest Population Losses in US in 2022

An U-Haul van rides in Manhattan, New York on Sept. 14, 2020. Chung I Ho/The Epoch Times

Counties that are home to the Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York City metros saw the largest exodus of people in the country last year, according to new data. Meanwhile, counties in Arizona, Texas, and Florida saw the greatest gains in population.

Los Angeles County posted the biggest drop in population between July 2021 and July 2022, falling by more than 90,000 and continuing a downward trend, according to U.S. Census Bureau’s Vintage 2022 estimates published March 30.

However, the number of people leaving Los Angeles last year is significantly lower than the roughly 180,000 who left the previous year during the height of the pandemic. That’s when the rate of remote work increased due to stay-at-home orders and many people fled to more affordable communities.

“90,000 is not a huge number. It’s not anything to panic about, especially given all the circumstantial problems related to the pandemic,” Dowell Myers, professor of urban planning and demography at the Price School of Policy at USC to LAist.

“The one thing I do worry about is the high housing costs, which are going to persist and will be a deterrent to other people coming here in the future. We’ve got to get a good grip on those,” Myers said.

Cook County, home to Chicago, lost the second-highest number of residents after more than 68,000 moved out last year. Los Angeles County and Cook County are still the two most populous counties in the country.

Three of New York City’s counties—Kings, Queens, and the Bronx—were all among the top five counties facing a mass migration.

These five counties which lost the most residents are all located in high-tax states, namely California, Illinois, and New York.

In contrast, the top 10 counties that gained the most residents last year were in Arizona, Texas, and Florida, where taxes are significantly lower.

Maricopa County in Arizona topped the growth list, adding 56,000 people in 2022. It was followed by Harris and Collin counties in Texas that claimed the second and third spot respectively, with each gaining more than 44,000 residents. Denton County saw more than 33,000 new neighbors move in. Polk County in central Florida came in at the fifth spot for growth with 32,000 new residents.

The United States’ most populous counties are increasingly located in the South and West, the census data show, a trend that reflects long-standing regional population shifts, according to the Bureau.

These Census estimates compare population changes through last July to the shifts that took place during the height of the pandemic. The population estimates rely on birth, death, and migration data.