The Decline of American Families in Urban Cities: Is Progressive Policy to Blame?
A recent report in The Atlantic and analysis by a Manhattan Institute scholar suggest that American families with young children are leaving urban cities in high numbers, potentially due to urban progressive policies. The under-5 population is declining twice as fast in large urban counties compared to other parts of the country, according to a new analysis of census data.
The Atlantic’s Derek Thompson pointed out that progressives have a “family problem” that may be linked to the family policies of large Democratic cities and politicians. The number of younger children has declined significantly in counties that make up major cities like Manhattan, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and Chicago between 2020 and 2023.
The trend of families leaving urban areas has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, with young, high-income, college-educated Whites moving into cities while multiracial families with children move out. The data also suggests that cities in red states have been more effective at building houses and containing child-care inflation compared to cities in blue states.
The Manhattan Institute fellow Robert VerBruggen highlighted the importance of attracting families to cities, stating that kids and parents are losing access to vibrant places, which are losing the basic human experience of being around children. Housing affordability is a major factor influencing migration decisions, with expensive housing leading to high costs for local services like childcare.
In order to reverse the trend of declining families in urban areas, cities need to focus on building more affordable housing, offering educational choice, and making public areas more accessible to kids. The data suggests that cities in red states are currently outpacing those in blue states in terms of housing construction, indicating a need for progressive cities to reevaluate their policies to attract and retain families.
