Number of Young Kids in Big Cities Is Plunging

On some city blocks, the kids are disappearing. A Wall Street Journal analysis of Census data finds that the number of residents under 18 in large US cities has dropped 6% in the past decade, compared to just 1% nationwide. The decline is particularly dramatic for the youngest children: Big cities—defined as those with more than 500,000 residents—have 15% fewer kids under 5, versus a 7% national drop. Even places whose overall populations are rising, such as New York and Denver, are seeing their child counts fall, reshaping schools, tax bases, and what daily life looks and sounds like.

The Journal traces the trend to a number of factors. For one thing, there are fewer kids, period: US births are down 9% over the last decade. And for another, many couples that are having kids have moved to smaller, cheaper locales, especially since the surge in remote work has made that possible. Only 13 of the nation's 38 largest cities bucked the trend (Fort Worth, Texas, and Jacksonville, Florida, led the way with 11% increases in their child populations). But for most metros, fewer children now means hard choices ahead on schools and related services. Read the full story. Or read about how the birth rate in Utah, long associated with large families, has been dropping sharply.