Real estate experts Dolly and Jenny Lenz discuss the expansion of the market and New York City's proposed pied-à-terre tax on 'The Claman Countdown.'
The big blue city saw its population shrink last year after two years of strong growth.
New York City's population declines by 2025, resulting in a total loss of about 12,000 people. The decline follows post-pandemic gains of 70,000 in 2023 and 163,000 in 2024, driven largely by a surge in immigration, including asylum seekers, according to an April 20 report from the Citizens Budget Commission.
“The population growth in 2023 and 2024 is due to the increase in immigration, especially the increase in immigrants and asylum seekers,” the report notes. “By 2025, the trend reversed again as immigration policy reduced immigration by 70 percent and domestic immigration increased.”
HOUSING CRISIS HITS EVERY YEAR AS HOMEOWNERSHIP DECLINES ACROSS THE COUNTRY
The sun sets over the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building in New York City on July 28, 2025, as seen from Bayonne, New Jersey. (Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
In total, the Big Apple lost 114,000 residents to other parts of the US, up from 94,000 a year ago but still below the pandemic-era peak of 330,000 in 2021.
Many people from New York stayed closer to home, moving to Long Island, Westchester and nearby states such as New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania, the report said.
“The city has long been a magnet for talent and opportunity, but recent changes in immigration — driven by the pandemic, immigration policy, affordability and taxes, and quality of life issues — portend a future that may not replicate past growth,” the report noted.
Housing remains a major factor in whether residents choose to move to, stay in, or leave New York City. Public services also have a role, the report notes.
TAX FIGHTS CONTINUE AS NEW YORK SHOWS OFF RICH OWNERS
Apartments for rent in the West Village area of New York. (Alex Kent/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Median asking rent rose nearly 7% by 2025 to $3,585, Realtor.com reports.
“It's no surprise that struggling families are leaving New York City,” Realtor.com economist Jiayi Xu told FOX Business. “With rents forced high and homeownership remaining out of reach for many, the city is leaving hard-pressed residents with few options.”
Xu noted that in the first quarter of 2026, the median rental income reached $3,616 — requiring about $145,000 in annual income to meet standard affordability standards. By comparison, the city's median household income is $85,549.
$150K ASKING IS NOT ENOUGH: NJ REAL ESTATE AGENT WARNS 'AVERAGE PERSON' IS BEING PRICED.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani held a press conference at Coney Island on Feb. 15, 2026. (Theodore Parisienne/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
“With so little left to save, the path to homeownership is closed for many — and for many, getting out is the only logical response,” Xu said.
The change also coincides with the election of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, following a campaign that included a proposed rent freeze — a policy some economists warn could reduce housing affordability, Realtor.com reported.
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The report also noted that it is not only the wealthy who are leaving the city.
“More New York City residents of all incomes, races, ethnicities, and ages have moved to other parts of the US than they have,” it said. “Such widespread domestic migration shows that many New Yorkers in a different neighborhood no longer find New York City's value proposition compelling.”
From July 2024 to July 2025, green states like New York, California, Illinois, New Jersey and Massachusetts continued to see population loss, according to the Heritage Foundation, citing data from the Census Bureau.
