The non-Hispanic white population of the city continued its slow decline, dropping nearly 12 percent. And the march of people to the suburbs the postwar story of big American cities has continued. But for the first time in decades, the suburbs' gain, of 5 percent, was not New York City's loss. These places are really safer, cleaner and more livable. The other related change is demographic.
Baby boomers can live wherever they want.
The kids are out of the house. They're tired of mowing the lawn. So we have this big countertrend of folks staying in the city or moving back in. That was an aberration until this decade. The suburbs still attract people, but no longer just white people fleeing the city.