One of New York City’s defining strengths is its magnetic appeal to young people, who are choosing to be here in high numbers despite fierce competition from other cities and an array of post-pandemic challenges. But for all its allure to twenty-somethings, the city is struggling to hold on to New Yorkers as they age into their 30s and start families.
To build a city that young families love—not leave—leaders should act now to implement bold policies that help them stay.
Few cities have experienced such a sharp decline in young families. Between April 2020 and July 2023, the number of children under five living in New York City dropped by 18.3% — nearly four times the national average and more than peer cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco. Since 2020, New Yorkers with children under six have left at more than twice the rate of other residents.
The loss of New York’s diverse middle-class families poses a distinct threat to the city’s long-term economic health and vitality. As the city’s fiscal outlook darkens, losing residents in their prime earning years undermines the tax base and weakens future stability. Families also bring lasting investment to neighborhoods, drive demand for quality schools, parks, and transit, and help build the kind of civically engaged communities that keep New York moving forward.
While there’s growing agreement among city leaders and the mayoral candidates that New York should do more to retain families, there’s far less consensus on specific policies that would make a real, achievable difference. Our new report helps fill that gap, offering five concrete ideas to make the city more affordable and appealing for families. They include:
Unlock more family-sized housing
Young families who have left the city cite housing quality and affordability as their top concern. To address this challenge, policymakers will have to do more to create or free up three-bedroom apartments.
Just 3.4% of new affordable housing units built in the past decade were family-sized, leaving many households squeezed out. At the same time, over 72,000 homes are occupied by solo older adults—some of whom would downsize if convenient, affordable alternatives existed.
The city can expand access to family-sized homes through zoning reforms and development incentives to boost supply, paired with a new initiative to help some older adults—tired of living alone or managing stairs and high costs—relocate to smaller, more accessible units with support from the city to ease this transition.
Spark public-private partnerships to expand childcare
For many New York City families, childcare costs as much—or more—than rent, making it a key factor driving parents out of the city. The mayor should seize a major, untapped opportunity to partner with the private sector by launching an NYC Childcare Solutions Fund.
Modeled on a successful initiative in Iowa, the Fund would start with a $25 million public investment and leverage matching dollars from major employers and philanthropy. It would expand childcare capacity by funding wage boosts in programs with room to grow and offering capital grants and low-interest loans to help successful providers scale.
As in Iowa, the city would oversee public funds while philanthropic partners manage private contributions, coordinating efforts to maximize impact.
Expand NYC Parks Summer Day Camp
Even though spring has just arrived, working parents have already been scrambling for months to line up summer care for their school-aged kids.
Costs can easily top $5,000 per child for the two months without school, and many affordable, high-quality programs filled up last fall for camps that begin in June. To ease this burden, the city should expand NYC Parks Summer Day Camp. This wildly popular program offers a summer of outdoor adventure for just $575—arguably the best deal in New York. However, it typically receives thousands of applications for fewer than 600 seats citywide.
The mayor should scale up Summer Day Camp to serve 5,000 families next summer, saving parents thousands and investing in city parks at the same time.
Reversing the exodus of young families is essential to New York’s future. The city’s short-term economic outlook and long-term strength depend on our city leaders taking bold, achievable actions right now—because when families can afford to build a life here, the entire city benefits.
Eli Dvorkin is editorial and policy director for the Center for an Urban Future; Winston C. Fisher is a partner at Fisher Brothers Development.
