The city’s growing but more slowly than in recent years, and the slowdown is greater in Manhattan compared with the rest of the big boroughs, according to the latest U.S. Census estimates.
The city’s population grew 52,700 between July 2013 and July 2014, but Manhattan’s contribution was only 4,263 people, the census estimates show.
Manhattan’s growth was only .26% of its total population, 1.63 million people. By comparison, Bronx’s 10,842 and Brooklyn’s 19,420 new residents made up roughly .75% of their total populations. Staten Island was the only borough to grow less than Manhattan, adding just 588 new residents, or slightly more than a tenth of a percent of its population.
Manhattan’s ability to attract people has declined since 2011, when the borough gained 21,533 people, or 1.34% of its population — that is on par with Brooklyn (34,830 or 1.37%) and Queens (26,060 or 1.15%) during the same period.
“It could be the result of increased housing prices and rents, it could also be because of the economy picking up around the country,” said Chris Jones, vice president for research at the Regional Plan Association. “You may just be seeing more mobility than you’ve seen in the couple of years after the recession.”
According to a March rental market report by Douglas Elliman, the median rent in Manhattan was $3,375, up 8.9% from 2014.
Nationwide, Manhattan was left out of the top 50 counties that gained the most people, though three boroughs — Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx — made the list, according to the Census Bureau.
The slow growth is a regional issue as well.
The New York-New Jersey-Pennsylvania metro area added 90,797 people between July 2013 and 2014, the third biggest gain in the U.S. But the New York metro area was unable to make the top 20 list of fastest-growing urban areas.
People nonetheless are still flocking to the city, but mainly from outside the U.S. International migration accounted for 85,438 new residents in a 12-month period ending June 2014, compared with 82,022 from July 2010 and 2011. Queens, long known as the most diverse borough, attracted the most people from other countries last year, with 27,072 people.
“You certainly continue to see strong immigration from overseas,” Jones said.
Domestically, however, more people moved out of the city than moved here over the past three years. Including people who moved to another borough, between 2013 and 2014:
Brooklyn lost 32,731 people, compared with 14,908 people between 2010 and 2011
Manhattan lost 21,582 people, compared with 3,620 in the 12-month period ending June 2011.
Queens lost 25,836 people, compared with 17,093 in 2011.
Bronx lost 17,199 people, compared with 18,237 in 2011.
Staten Island lost 2,044 people, compared with 2,099 in 2011.
