New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles are the worst U.S. cities to live in! (purchasing, living)

[jacobwilliam77]

In analyzing data from the US Census I have found that these 3 cities people are getting the hell out of dodge fast! Alot of people moving for greener pastures.

Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas Totals: Vintage 2012 - U.S Census Bureau

Here are the top 10 City Metros that lost the most citizens due to "domestic migration" in the last year...

1. New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ -95,944
2. Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights, IL -40,907
3. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA -40,361
4. Detroit-Dearborn-Livonia, MI -18,284
5. Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL -17,037
6. Newark, NJ-PA -16,753
7. Nassau County-Suffolk County, NY -12,516
8. St. Louis, MO-IL -10,991
9. Cleveland-Elyria, OH -10,579
10. Philadelphia, PA -8,042

By comparision, here are the best places to live in the U.S., the City Metros that gained the most population through "domestic migration" in the last year...

1. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX +40,345
2. Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX +38,651
3. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ +37,025
4. Austin-Round Rock, TX +30,324
5. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA +24,207
6. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL +22,728
7. Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO +22,428
8. San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX +20,912
9. Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC +20,481
10. Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN +14,935

[STLgasm]

I love that all the cool cities are the ones losing net migrants. That actually works in their favor, because it filters out the people with horrible taste who are apparently attracted to the cities on the net gain list. Pretty much all of those towns are soulless Sunbelt sprawlers that I'd rather die than call home. No offense.

[MichiVegas]

You do realize that domestic migration is largely due to high prices and international in-migration, right?

Basically places get domestic migration because they're expensive and desirable, so people looking for cheaper options go elsewhere.

Why not include real population growth? I don't see why it makes sense to tease out domestic and international migration, and then to ignore birth and death rates. Obviously a place like Phoenix will get tons of old folks looking to retire in the sun; it doesn't mean it's more desirable than a place like LA.

[Chicago60614]

?? A lot of those cities with net outmigration are huge destinations for international immigration. People get grounded in those gateway cities and then spread out around the country.

[iNviNciBL3]

Originally Posted by STLgasm

I love that all the cool cities are the ones losing net migrants. That actually works in their favor, because it filters out the people with horrible taste who are apparently attracted to the cities on the net gain list. Pretty much all of those towns are soulless Sunbelt sprawlers that I'd rather die than call home. No offense.

yup not everyone wants to live in some dirty stressful city, horrible taste? no i just don't like cities that smell like urine.

[GatsbyGatz]

For NYC, LA, and Miami, the cost of living is what pushes people away. Many Asian investors are purchasing properties in these two cities like crazy.

The other cities... I'd imagine crime, poor economies, and the freeezing cold winters to be the cause for migration.

[zeroherosp1979]

might be the most ignorant post i have ever seen

[citylove101]

These figures are for METRO areas, however, not the city proper. The picture within the cities themselves is more mixed. NYC, LA, and Chicago all gained population 2010-2012, even if their metro areas lead the pack with the highest net domestic out-migration. (Which you might suspect anyway because they're the largest metro areas in the U.S.)

The big three are definitely not the "Worst" cities to live in, but going solely by the numbers--which is a ridiculously simplistic way to look at it--it's the suburbs of these cities that may be "worst", not the cities themselves.

[jabe]

Originally Posted by citylove101

NYC, LA, and Chicago all gained population 2010-2012

And all the population they gained was immigration and birth over deaths.

[MichiVegas]

Originally Posted by jabe

And all the population they gained was immigration and birth over deaths.

Not true. NYC (city proper) had positive net domestic migration.

It's the suburbs that have the negative net domestic migration, not the city. This makes sense if you think who is moving to NYC (young, educated people within the U.S., and immigrants).