Despite Urban Exodus Due to COVID-19, US Population Movement Hits Lowest in Over 70 Years

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] Despite the urban exodus phenomenon caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, actual population movement recorded the lowest level in over 70 years.

On the 18th (local time), CNN cited statistics recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau, reporting that only 8.4% (about 27.1 million) of Americans changed their residence between 2020 and 2021, when the COVID-19 pandemic began.

CNN explained that this means population movement, which had been declining since 2014-2015, reached its lowest point in over 70 years since 1948.

Stephen Whittaker, an economic policy expert at the Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank, said that although there was no mass migration across the United States, it is true that many people left urban centers early in the COVID-19 pandemic.

He explained that while there was an exodus from expensive metropolitan areas during the pandemic, other forms of population movement such as long-distance or intra-regional migration decreased, and overall, population movement during the first year of the COVID-19 crisis declined compared to the previous year.

However, he noted that the trend of moving out of costly urban centers to nearby small towns or rapidly growing areas like Las Vegas or Nashville continued through the second quarter of this year.

He also predicted that the urban exodus could prolong as the millennial and Z generations, now entering middle age, attempt to purchase their first homes with their families.

Nevertheless, he believes it is only a matter of time before the number of people moving into large metropolitan areas catches up with those leaving them.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.