It has been revealed that the population of New York City has decreased as the number of immigrants entering the city has sharply declined in the aftermath of the Trump administration’s hardline immigration policies. According to a report by The New York Times on the 26th based on the Federal Census Bureau’s “2025 Population Estimates,” the population of New York City is estimated to be 8.58 million as of July 2025.
This represents a decrease of 12,200 people compared to the previous year and falls significantly short of the 8.8 million population projected for the early 2020s. The main reason for this population decline is attributed to the increasingly pronounced drop in immigrant inflows in recent years.
According to actual statistics, the influx of new foreign-born immigrants into New York City between July 2024 and July 2025 was 66,000, a 70% decrease from the 220,000 recorded during the same period of the previous year. This magnitude of decline is the highest among all metropolitan areas in the United States. Among New York City’s five boroughs, four—excluding Staten Island—were included in the top 10 counties with the largest decreases in immigrant inflow. Furthermore, it is estimated that 114,000 more residents left New York City for other regions than newly arrived. By borough, Queens saw the largest decline with a decrease of 8,900 people, followed by Brooklyn with 4,700 and Manhattan with 650. Conversely, Staten Island increased by 1,700 and the Bronx by 280.
The fact that Queens and Brooklyn, areas with high immigrant concentrations, showed the largest declines reflects the impact of reduced influx of international immigrants. Previously, New York City offset population outflow to other regions with an influx of immigrants; however, it is analyzed that the population decline is now occurring because immigrant settlement has noticeably decreased compared to the past due to factors such as the Trump administration’s strict immigration policies.
John Mollenkopf, a political science professor at the City University of New York, warned, “If the influx of foreign immigrants does not continue steadily, New York City will start to falter.” Meanwhile, the Census Bureau announced in its “2025 Population Estimates” released on the 26th that year-on-year population growth slowed in 310 out of 387 metropolitan areas across the U.S. between July 2024 and July 2025.
Additionally, according to the Bureau, approximately 80% of the 2,066 counties that experienced population growth between 2023 and 2024 saw their growth slow or shift to a decline between 2024 and 2025.