Where Manhattanites Fled During The Pandemic May Surprise You

Since the virus pandemic began, property firms and moving companies in New York City have reported a mass exodus of city-dwellers. Many of them are young families escaping the metro area’s socio-economic collapse as hybrid work (or remote working) allows them to live in suburbia. We find out today, in a new report, many of those who fled Manhattan in the last 12 months ending in January 2021 didn’t go very far. 

Bloomberg cites mobile phone data from Placer.ai, which reveals 37% of Manhattanites fled to Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, and other nearby suburbs. About 14.6% of them wound up in, well, you guessed it, Suffolk County, where the Hamptons is located. Next on the list is Brooklyn at 4.2%, Bronx 3.8%, Nassau 3.7%, Queens 3.3%, and Westchester 2.5%.  

Surprisingly, two counties located in Florida made the list, with 2.5% Manhattanites moving to Miami-Dade and 2.1% to Palm Beach. 

During this period, Manhattan recorded a 12.8% decline in net migration as it appeared even in 2021, outbound migration trends continued to overwhelm inbound ones. 

In a separate report, we’ve noted Manhattanites have been purchasing homes in Greenwich. Also, there have been migration trends to a tiny town in New York State’s Hudson Valley called Poughkeepsie. 

As parts of New York City reopen following strict coronavirus-related restrictions, a revival of the metro area could take years. For instance, the recovery of Manhattan depends on office workers returning to skyscrapers. In a recent study via the Partnership for New York City, they found about two-thirds of white-collar workers in the borough won’t return to the office full-time. 

From apartments to office space, rents are dropping as inventory surges. The hybrid work style that many companies have adopted over the last year is becoming more permanent, allowing employees to work where ever they want. 

While some signs of life for the borough have recently materialized, a recovery back to 2019 levels is far away.