Survey Says…Only 38% of Residents Who Left Urban Areas During Pandemic Have Returned

During the early months of the pandemic, the flight from cities was well-documented, with major metropolitan areas like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco losing the highest percentage of residents during 2020.  However, recent data has shown that this urban exodus is coming to a standstill and in fact, has been reversing over the past few months.  Amidst reports of a rebounding wave of people moving back to major cities, a recent survey conducted by StorageUnits.com of 1,300 Americans who moved away from cities during the first year of the pandemic found that:

• Only 38% of pre-pandemic city residents have moved back to the city
• 51% of those who returned are paying more for housing than they were pre-pandemic
• 35% are living with more roommates than they were previously

Less than 4 out of 10 people who left cities during the first year of the pandemic have returned, and of those who have returned, the majority of them are also paying more rent and a large majority of them are living with more roommates than they were pre-pandemic.  In fact, 44% of this group reports living with three to four other people, and 20% say they have five or more roommates.  When asked why they chose to return to the city, the most common reason given was that respondents had to return for work (55%) followed by a general preference for city living versus the suburbs or country (46%).