A Census Bureau report found that high home prices are driving some people out. "The five counties that comprise New York City grew by about 1.65% between 2000 and 2005, according to the bureau's estimates. The data further show that New York's population declined slightly between 2004 and 2005."

"A steady flow of immigrants has kept New York ahead of other Northeast cities, while steep housing costs may keep the city from further growth."

"A senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, E.J. McMahon, said of the city's population, 'The thing that's pulling it down is a slowdown in immigration, as well as real estate and housing costs.' Joel Kotkin said, 'What I do sense is that immigrants are getting smart about America and are realizing that there are a lot of other places to go besides Los Angeles and New York,' he said."

"Analysts agreed that the city's high cost of living, heightened by rising real estate prices, was a top challenge for maintaining population growth in the future. 'Even though New York has done a great job with crime, and it's more pleasant, it's just too expensive,' Mr. Kotkin said."

"New Jersey's continuing population slowdown is prompting some economists to warn it could be a symptom of serious economic illness in the nation's wealthiest state. County-by-county population estimates for 2005 released yesterday by the U.S. Census Bureau showed declining growth rates in nearly every area of the state, with some counties experiencing dramatic drops."

"'It may well be an early warning signal,' said (professor) Jim Hughes. 'There is evidence that the cost of living has become excessive and income levels don't fully compensate for that.' The state has been losing high-paying jobs for several years. At the same time, housing prices and property taxes have skyrocketed..and experts said longtime New Jerseyans are voting with their feet."

"For the first time in more than three decades, the population of San Diego County declined last year, joining other California coastal counties that are losing their allure as high housing prices drive home-buyers to more affordable regions."

"While the county's overall loss of population was 1,728 between July 2004 and July 2005, the more telling number is the net exodus of 43,126 people, many of them who likely headed up Interstate 15 to Riverside County, where housing prices are still considerably lower than in San Diego."

"'This is pretty stunning,' said demographer Ed Schafer of the San Diego County Association of Governments. 'The net out-migration (domestically) is so powerfully high. That's the story. Here you have the coastal counties with all these people leaving them but the counties just to the interior have all these people moving in.'"

"People also moved out of Los Angeles and Orange counties, but the two counties were able to muster modest population increases. 'What's driving this is the cost of housing,' Schafer said. 'It's just pushing people further east.'"