Millionaires are flocking back to New York City as people making less than $172,000 move out
- Millionaires are flocking back to New York City, as residents earning under $172,000 flee.
- It comes after New York's pandemic economy briefly made life a little easier for lower-earners.
There's a familiar refrain about New York City: If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere. And, as the cost of living stays high, it seems like those who can make it — and want to be in the city — are high-earners.
A new report from the nonprofit Fiscal Policy Institute finds that, despite the many rumblings that New York City was dead, that didn't deter millionaires from moving back in. While the city lost 2,400 millionaires from 2020 to 2022, that was offset and then some by the 17,500 millionaires who moved in during the same time, per the report's analysis of ACS data.
At the same time, lower-earning New Yorkers were throwing in the towel on the city. The report found that, across income quintiles, New Yorkers making between $32,000 and $65,000 were leaving the city most. Over 65,000 New Yorkers in that second income quintile migrated from 2017 to 2022, compared to just over 50,000 New Yorkers earning over $172,000. In total, nearly 200,000 New Yorkers making under $172,000 migrated out during that five-year period.
That makes sense given how New York's economic recovery took shape. The early pandemic left the city somewhat barren, and essays about why people were leaving the city were abundant. Those left behind faced a deadly pandemic, and a topsy turvy NYC economy: The high earners, who could likely work remotely, were fleeing. Suddenly rents were plunging, leaving some residents to live in a way they never could have imagined. Workers who made adjusted gross incomes of under $50,000 saw those incomes grow by 7.4%, according to data compiled by the New York City comptroller's office.
But the bill came due — and then some — for those who aren't the highest of the high earners. Rents started creeping toward record highs; as of October 2023, even after a moderate price cooldown, the median rental price in Manhattan was up 4.6% year-over-year, per Douglas Elliman. To afford childcare in New York City, a family would have to make about $300,000 a year to meet federal standards around affordability. According to the Census Bureau, the median household income in New York City is $74,694.
In summary, the changing economic tides led New York City's middle class to move out — and for millionaires to move in.
"I call us the 'make too much, but not enough' demographic," Danna Dennis, a community organizer who moved from Brooklyn to New Jersey in 2019, told the New York Times. "You either have to be all the way on the top, or you have to be way on the bottom."
Rich New Yorkers were also only getting richer in 2021, according to data from the New York City comptroller's office, a reversal from early pandemic trends. New Yorkers earning between $1 million and $25 million saw their adjusted gross incomes rise by 21.3% from calendar year 2020 to 2021, and those making over $25 million saw their AGIs grow by 84.5%.
But the report does illustrate one surprising twist: Even when taxes were raised on the highest-earning New Yorkers — which happened in 2017 with the new SALT cap, and higher income taxes in 2021 — they didn't leave. And even when they do move, according to the report, they're still likely moving to high tax states. That's good news for city revenues, and maybe for those who say the answer to mounting inequality is taxing the rich more.
Are you leaving New York City over high costs, or moving in despite them? Contact this reporter at jkaplan@insider.com.