These elite American super-cities are bleeding people. Are there any religion ghosts in this big story?

It’s hard to imagine any corner of American life that has not been touched by the coronavirus pandemic.

Obviously, there have been plenty of religion stories — along with the obvious angles linked to politics, business and technology.

Then you have stories that combine all of these elements. That is, they combine all of these themes if reporters are willing to look at the numbers and trends through multiple lens. However, as any GetReligion reader knows, not all lens are created equal.

One of the most important stories has been the impact of COVID-19 realities on some of the most important zip codes — “important” from an elite-news perspective — on the blue coasts. That brings us to that massive headline the other day in The New York Times, a paper that has, for the most part, treated evidence of New York City woes as part of a vast a right-wing conspiracy theory. Here’s that double-decker headline:

Cities Lost Population in 2021, Leading to the Slowest Year of Growth in U.S. History

Although some of the fastest growing regions in the country continued to grow, the gains were nearly erased by stark losses in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

This is, of course, an almost totally religion-free story. I was pleased to notice that the Times team took demographic issues — including birth-rate slumps — rather seriously, even if the editors didn’t (as usual) connect the dots and see the religious, cultural and moral elements of that important angle (please see this earlier GetReligion piece — “New York Times asks this faith-free question: Why are young Americans having fewer babies?” — for background).

Am I arguing that the flight from several important American super-cities is essentially a religion story? Of course not. Am I saying that issues linked to faith, family and culture are playing a role in this very, very important story? Yes, I am. And I think the maps included with this post are interesting, to say the least. Like this state income-tax map.

Let’s look at two long passages from this Times story, starting with the overture:

Substantial population loss in some of the nation’s largest and most vibrant cities was the primary reason 2021 was the slowest year of population growth in U.S. history, new Census data shows.

Although some of the fastest growing regions in the country continued to boom, the gains were nearly erased by stark losses last year in counties that encompass the New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco metropolitan areas.

The pandemic played a role, as the number of people dying rose substantially and many Americans left cities for smaller places. But experts say that skyrocketing housing costs were also to blame, and that some of the changes are a continuation of fundamental shifts in American demographics that began before the pandemic, such as the steadily falling birthrate and steep drop in immigration.

New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco lost a total of over 700,000 people from July 2020 to July 2021, according to the Census Bureau. Meanwhile, Phoenix, Houston, Dallas, Austin and Atlanta gained more than a total of 300,000 residents. And there was also substantial growth in some rural areas and smaller cities like Boise, Idaho, and Myrtle Beach, S.C.

It would be impossible to ignore the impact of Zoom-era tech on businesses, as well as influential corporations seeking friendly tax policies for themselves and their workers.

But what else is going on?

Let’s keep reading, noting that some of those trends do, in fact, show up:

The pattern is a notable contrast from a decade ago, when large cities were growing, bolstered by a decades-long boom in immigration and the rising popularity of urban living. At that time, most of the counties losing population were rural or experiencing economic decline.

In the years immediately preceding the pandemic, those factors began to shift. Immigration slowed, urban housing costs rose, and suburban and exurban growth began picking up steam, trends that continued through the pandemic.

The virus wrought other changes. Because Covid-19 caused so many deaths, only 828 counties had more births than deaths in 2021, the figures show, down from more than 1,900 a decade ago. And the rise of remote work made it less of a requirement for many workers to live in expensive cities to take advantage of high-paying jobs.

The decline in fertility started a decade ago during the Great Recession, and reflects the ways in which women and men of the Millennial generation are prioritizing education and work, delaying marriage and parenthood, and struggling to gain their economic footing as they deal with student debt, slow wage growth and steep housing costs.

Now, let’s veer off the usual news track.

Please look at the tax-policy map included with this post and the fertility map and then compare that with this Reddit map attempting to chart attendance in worship services.

Does the Times report include any hint that cultural issues are playing a role in this story?

Not really.

However, I thought there was an interesting detail in one of the many case studies that were included to illustrate what is going on. Like what?

Kayli Thompson, 34, and her daughter, Analiese, 13, arrived in Houston last year from Ithaca, N.Y., where Ms. Thompson’s hours as a librarian were cut in half during the pandemic.

She was drawn to Houston by its stronger job market and warm climate. Still, relocating was a struggle. The rent money she set aside from savings, stimulus payments and a tax credit did not stretch as far as she had hoped. Her two-bedroom apartment costs $1,500 per month, nearly double her rent in Ithaca. She did not find a job right away, and received an eviction notice; in February, her church paid her rent.

That sounds rather like the Texas in which I grew up.

Just saying. Maybe the reporters working on this important story needed to add an additional lens when doing their research?

FIRST IMAGE: Illustration from “How to Lock a Uhaul Truck” at Revolar.com