(VOVworld) – The population of US major cities has shrunk for 5 consecutive years as Americans are leaving big cities for suburban areas. In contrary during the 1990s and 2000s when the housing boom happened, Americans moved to the largest and most prosperous cities.

New York city seen from the Empire State building (Photo: Wikipedia)

The US Census Bureau says domestic and international migrants are the main reason. The number of domestic migrants of New York has reduced by 900,000 people since 2010. This means nearly 1 million people have moved out of New York in 7 years.

According to economist Jed Kolko, the US major cities have seen population loss in 5 consecutive years. Because of high living costs and disturbances, a big city is not an ideal place to middle-income families, who dream of buying a house with a garden and a car at affordable prices.

In March, Ford’s car sales fell 24% and the sales of F-Series trucks doubled. GM’s multi-purpose vehicles and trucks have been best sellers instead of the sedans.  Obviously, American families tend to move to suburban areas to live to avoid crowded and expensive places and buy big vehicles without being worried of finding a parking lot.

The population’s movement affects politics. Major cities, which play an important role in GDP and national tax revenues, don’t play a decisive role in elections. During the US President Election 2016, Democrat Candidate Hillary Clinton won 461,000 votes in Brooklyn, a district of New York, 7 times higher the total votes she gained in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Her loss in these key states caused her final defeat in the presidential election.