In recent years, many families, especially those with young children, have chosen to flee New York City due to the cost of childcare, education, and housing.
A report by the Fiscal Policy Institute released earlier this summer found families with children six years old and younger are twice as likely to leave the city compared to those without children. The analysis read that while households with young children only make up 14% of the city’s population, they represent 30% of those leaving.
The exodus of families from the Big Apple has grown more prevalent since the pandemic, but it has reportedly reached a new level recently as the cost of basic needs, childcare, and housing continue to rise, Gothamist reported.
According to a March Siena poll, 48% of New Yorkers say they’re spending more on monthly child care costs than they were two years ago. Additionally, respondents overwhelmingly said they were spending more on housing, food and transportation costs this year compared to two years ago.
Yet, Mayor Eric Adams’ budget for 2024 cut funding to the city’s popular 3-K and pre-K programs, even after he and the city council agreed to restructure the system. After hundreds of parents were placed on a 3-K waiting list or matched in neighborhoods far from them, Adams promised those waiting for a slot they’ll be able to get one, but this reassurance may have come too late for some residents who haven’t had access to the program.
“We timed out the second kid based on when [our oldest] would enter free child care. Because we were like we can swing one daycare bill,” Caroline Fermin, a 39-year-old mother of two told Gothamist. “Maybe this was dumb on my part, making all these life decisions based on this promise of free quality child care.”
Fermin lives in a $2,000 rent-stabilized apartment in Washington Heights with her husband and their two kids. After being waitlisted from the city’s 3-K program for her oldest son, they were forced to seriously consider whether they could afford to stay in the city, with the cost of private childcare for both children each month being about $2,700.
“I’ve really poured my heart and soul into the city,” Fermin said. “It would be like breaking up with a place that is rich in culture and history and friends and community.”
