31,000 People Fled Harlem In 2020, New Data Shows

HARLEM, NY — As the pandemic swept New York last year, residents fled Harlem in droves, according to a new study by the global real estate firm CBRE.

The study looked at 29 million change-of-address requests filed with the U.S. Postal Service last year, providing insight into which ZIP codes saw the most departures — and where residents went.

New York City, which was already shrinking before the pandemic, had the second-most net move-outs of any metro in the country in 2020, trailing only San Francisco, the study found. Meanwhile, Sun Belt cities like Austin and Charlotte saw population gains.

Within the city, dense, urbanized neighborhoods like Midtown, Lower Manhattan and Northern Brooklyn lost the most residents.

Across Harlem's eight ZIP codes, more than 31,400 people moved out in 2020, while 20,100 moved in — a net loss of more than 11,200 residents. That's a far greater exodus than the previous year, when the neighborhood had a net loss of about 5,700 people.

Here is the 2020 move-out data for each Harlem ZIP code:

• 10026 — Central Harlem: 2,515 move-ins, 3,705 move-outs — net loss of 1,190 residents, or 23 per 1,000 people
• 10027 — Central/West Harlem: 3,811 move-ins, 6,292 move-outs — net loss of 2,481 residents, or 20 per 1,000 people
• 10029 — East Harlem: 4,199 move-ins, 6,293 move-outs — net loss of 2,094 residents, or 8 per 1,000 people
• 10030 — Hamilton Heights/West Harlem) 1,760 move-ins, 2,669 move-outs — net loss of 909 residents, or 14 per 1,000 people
• 10031 — Hamilton Heights/West Harlem: 3,517 move-ins, 5,870 move-outs — net loss of 2,353 residents, or 17 per 1,000 people
• 10035 — East Harlem: 1,192 move-ins, 2,949 move-outs — net loss of 957 residents, or 18 per 1,000 people
• 10037 — Central/East Harlem: 1,259 move-ins, 1,805 move-outs — net loss of 546 residents, or 19 per 1,000 people
• 10039 — Central Harlem: 1,119 move-ins, 1,845 move-outs — net loss of 726 residents, or 23 per 1,000 people

The 10027 ZIP code, covering parts of Central and West Harlem, had the neighborhood's most net move-outs, with 2,481 — the 25th-highest of any in the state.

The drops in Harlem were not as steep as those in other parts of Manhattan, like the Upper East Side, which had even higher move-out rates, or Midtown, whose 10016 ZIP code had the most move-outs of any in New York state.

Most people who moved last year went only a short distance, often to a nearby county, the researchers found. Many of them were affluent young adults who had no children and were able to work remotely.

"The outflow from urban areas likely will subside as normal life resumes and lower rents lure back some who had moved out," they wrote.

Manhattan rent prices, which fell precipitously during the pandemic exodus, have shown signs of rebounding in recent months, suggesting that demand for urban living has begun to rise again.